This survey of the recent literature asks: how important is trade policy for poverty reduction? We consider the effects …-level research, and case studies) supports the view that trade openness contributes greatly to growth. Moreover, trade openness does … not have systematic effects on the poor beyond its effect on overall growth. Trade policy is only one of many determinants …

China's sectoral trade composition, product quality mix, and import content of processing exports have all changed … substantially during the past decade. This has rendered trade elasticities estimated using aggregate data highly unstable, with more …

This paper provides an overview of trade reform in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) since 1996 and … a quantitative assessment of potential effects on trade patterns and tariff revenue of the current reform agenda …. Despite evidence of significant trade complementarities within WAEMU, implementation of the union's current trade regime still …

if China's relative presence continues to rise in the regional trade. …

This paper examines the persistence of shocks to the terms of trade, using annual data on 42 Sub-Saharan African … countries between 1960-96. We find that the persistence of terms of trade shocks varies widely—for about half the countries such …-lived terms of trade shocks are typically those that have large shares of petroleum imports in total imports, small shares of …

The paper analyses the potential trade impact of the forthcoming East African Community (EAC) customs union. It … examines the trade linkages among the member countries of the EAC and the extent to which the introduction of the EAC common … external tariff will liberalize their trade regimes. To gauge the potential trade impact of the formation of the customs union …

The effect of exchange rate volatility on trade flows was examined by a 1984 IMF study on G-7 countries. Over the past … exchange hedging instruments, may have reduced the impact of volatility on trade flows. Using recent advances in the economic … theories on trade and in statistical methodologies, this paper revisits this important issue by taking into account these new …

Preference erosion has become an obstacle to multilateral trade liberalization, as beneficiaries of trade preferences …