Offshoring of business process services (BPS) and information technology services (ITS) – whether through international insourcing or international outsourcing – is transforming the way many companies do business. This paper looks at the expansion of international supply chains and the rise...

One of the key challenges to ensuring adequate supplies of fresh water and sanitary wastewater systems is to build the capacity of various stakeholders to manage and deliver water and sanitation services. One element of such capacity building is technological and includes the wide deployment of...

As part of its work on regionalism, the OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate has completed a series of studies that compare rule-making provisions in regional trade agreements with those in the World Trade Organisation (e.g., in the area of services, investment and competition). This paper...

This study analyses the role that services trade liberalisation could play in fostering tourism growth in developing countries. The economic and social importance of tourism means that the industry is high on the list of development priorities in many developing countries and LDCs. In order to...

This study reviews key issues in liberalising network infrastructure services ? including telecommunications, postal/courier, energy, water and sewage ? in the national and multilateral contexts. The economic and social significance of these services means that they are high on the list of...

Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) have grown dramatically in number and importance since the early 1990s and they increasingly include chapters and provisions encompassing competition issues. This study provides a taxonomy of the types of competition-related provisions contained in selected RTAs....

This paper examines China's emergence as a global player in international markets over the last few decades. It provides an overview of China's trade policy environment following the country's process of market opening and joining the WTO. The report analyses China’s role in international...

This paper provides an in-depth examination of the trade effects of three regional trade agreements (RTAs) – the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR) -- in the agricultural sector. Results...

This study analyses the People’s Republic of China’s trade policy environment with a focus on trade-related regulations and their role in supporting China’s market openness. It examines in particular to what extent China’s trade regulations comply with the principles of transparency and...

This paper analyses the relation between time for exports and imports, logistics services and international trade. Time is found not only to reduce trade volumes, but more importantly lengthy procedures for exports and imports reduce the probability that firms will enter export markets for...