Economic research and trade policy analysis

Geographical indications are signs used to identify the origin of goods characterized by a given quality or reputation that is essentially linked to their geographical origin. They preserve traditional knowledge, foster the growth of local production and satisfy the needs of increasingly quality-conscious and demanding global consumers. Governments acceding to the World Trade Organization (WTO) have reformed their rules on geographical indicatio Read More

La présente section porte sur la politique en matière d'innovation et traite des raisons qui la justifient d'un point de vue économique ainsi que de son impact concret. Pour qu'il y ait innovation, il faut que de nouvelles connaissances soient créées grâce à l'investissement dans la recherche, puis diffusées par le système éducatif ou les publications, les brevets et l'échange d'idées. Lorsque des entreprises ou des pouvoirs publics soutiennent le progrès tech Read More

A comprehensive review of the literature on global value chains (GVCs) is an ambitious undertaking for at least three reasons. First, the literature is voluminous and the risk of omitting key references is high. Second, the proper study of GVCs requires a multidisciplinary approach, with literature originating from a wide variety of disciplines. This requires an understanding of different intellectual and conceptual approaches. Third, with such a high level Read More

Gone are the days when trade policy decisions were settled by one or two government ministries and conveyed with little ceremony to parliament and the public. Evolving views and practices on participatory decision-making, along with a policy-making environment that continues to grow in complexity, have changed the manner in which national trade policy is formulated. The number of governmental authorities and agencies implicated in national tra Read More

Any discussion today of international trade and investment policy that fails to acknowledge the centrality of global value chains (GVCs) would be considered outmoded and of questionable relevance. The idiom might vary – referring to trade in value-added, production sharing, supply chains, outsourcing, offshoring, vertical integration, or fragmented production instead of GVCs – but the core notion of internationally joined-up production is the same. Read More

The South African economy is one mired in a long-run, low-level growth trap, which has entrenched high levels of structural unemployment. Further, and as is the case with many middle-income economies, it has struggled with the domestic consequences emanating from a variety of exogenous economic shocks. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the case of contagion effects from the 2008 global crisis and trade-induced shocks – within a world econom Read More

Production networks in East Asia, a result of “the second unbundling”, are currently the most advanced in the world, particularly in machinery industries A new type of international division of labour has fundamentally changed the development strategies of less developed countries (LDCs) as well as developed countries’ (DCs) approach to LDCs.

Depuis la crise financière de 2008-2009, l’emploi industriel dans certaines économies a diminué et la concurrence internationale dans les secteurs industriels matures s’est resserrée ; l’évolution de la productivité et des salaires a ralenti et une nouvelle économie reposant sur les technologies numériques est apparue. Dans ce contexte, les politiques industrielles et les politiques en matière d’innovation ont fait l’objet d’un renouveau, et ces « nouvelles Read More

This volume has been produced under the WTO Chairs Programme (WCP), a WTO capacity-building programme launched upon the initiative of Hakim Ben Hammouda and Patrick Low in 2010. The WCP is jointly managed by the WTO’s Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation and Economic Research and Statistics Division under the direction of Bridget Chilala and Robert Teh, respectively. The editors thank Fatima Chaudhri and Gerardo Thielen for th Read More

A strong multilateral trading system is vital to developing countries’ longterm interests both for its rulebook and for the market access that it guarantees in all key markets. Markets are increasingly located in developing countries. Indeed, for the first time in recent history, South–South trade outweighs North–South trade, even though barriers to South–South trade are much more significant than those to developed countries’ markets. Through their WTO acce Read More