The e-commerce sector is rapidly growing globally with the Asia-Pacific region accounting for 58 per cent of global retail e-commerce in 2022, and India, Singapore, China, and Japan leading this growth. The discussion on e-commerce and trade at the global level began in 1998 with the...

The digital connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region is primarily shaped by the availability of ICT infrastructure, the nature of regulatory policies, and the dynamics of competition among service providers. This paper explores the policies and regulations that affect the costs and accessibility...

The study estimates partial and general equilibrium impacts of trade digitalization on trade flows using data from the UN Trade Digitalization Index (TDI) 2024 and a structural gravity model. This approach, unlike earlier gravity model studies on the topic, allows for the derivation of both...

The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, which accounts for over 50 per cent of the world's population and over 35 per cent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), is one of the fastest growing regions in the world. The region is growing at higher than the global growth rate and is expected to...

This paper explores the relationship between manufacturing and growth rate in recent years. We undertake a simple cross-country analysis using UN data. When controlling for variables relevant to growth, we find no significant relationship between the two variables. We argue that manufacturing...

Cultural, institutional, and psychic distances between countries are critical determinants of bilateral trade. In this paper we examine if ethical distance and difference between an exporting country and an importing country matter in international trade. Ethics in international trade is...

Trade facilitation refers to all measures that can be taken to facilitate cross-border trade flows, but there is no standard formal definition of trade facilitation. This paper examines whether export-oriented MSMEs have access to trade facilitation and how helpful trade facilitation is in...

This paper looks at the possibilities of a concluding "Bali package" on the issues that are currently engaging the WTO Members. It gives an account of the discussions currently taking place on each of the three areas and makes an assessment whether it is possible for the key countries to arrive...

This paper develops a simple small-country model to explain why the World Trade Organization (WTO) prohibits export subsidies but allows import tariffs. Governments choose protection rates (import tariffs/export subsidies) to maximize a weighted sum of social welfare and lobbying contributions....

While Vietnamese businesswomen have exhibited their excellent capability in overcoming the global economic crisis as well as their readiness to play an essential role in rebuilding the post-crisis economy, the country's women-led export enterprises that are facing post-crisis challenges are in...