We construct an index of NTM transparency based on notifications to the WTO under the SPS and TBT agreements, the existence of a trade portal giving ready access to trade-relevant regulations, the existence of NTM data collected under the MAST classification, and the results of an experiment...

IntroductionAfter close to 70 years of trade liberalization, a series of recent events suggests that the tide may well be turning. International trade as a proportion of global gross domestic product (GDP) has stopped growing in the last decade, in what Constantinescu et al. (2015) dub the...

To obtain country specific estimates of ad-valorem equivalent (AVE) of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs), we propose a a new that relies on the estimation of bilateral trade flows on two-way panels (product X importer X exporter) at the HS 2-digit level with importer, exporter and product fixed effects...

Recent years have seen a surge in regional trade agreements (RTAs) and the development of non-tariff measures (NTMs). As a consequence, a growing number of RTAs include provisions on NTMs. This paper investigates the effect of standards-harmonization clauses contained in many North-South...

This paper investigates whether the Pesticides Initiative Program has signicantly affected the export performance of Senegal's horticulture industry. We apply two main microeconometric techniques, difference-in-differences and matching difference-in-differences, to identify the effect of the...

This paper estimates the effect of the decision to import intermediate goods and capital equipment on Total Factor Productivity (TFP) at the firm level on a panel of Spanish firms (1991-2002). We use two alternative approaches. In the first, we estimate TFP and apply a diff-in-diff estimator...

The demand for accountability in "Aid-for-Trade" (AFT) is increasing but monitoring has focused on case-studies and impressionistic narratives. The paper reviews recent evidence from a wide range of studies, recognizing that a multiplicity of approaches is needed to learn what works and what...

This paper evaluates the effects of the FAMEX export promotion program in Tunisia on the performance of beneficiary firms. While most studies assess only the short-term impact of such programs, we consider also the longer-term impact. Estimates suggest that beneficiaries initially saw both...

Does international trade help or hinder the economic development of border regions relative to interior regions? Theory tends to suggest that trade helps, but it can also predict the reverse. The question is policy relevant as regions near land borders are generally poorer, and sometimes more...

We set up a model of costly information production between two lobbies, a firm and a consumer group, competing for influence over an imperfectly informed but benevolent government. The government is endowed with a parametric amount of information and chooses the best policy from a finite,...