Our knowledge of the trade effects of domestic infrastructure is very limited. The reason is twofold. First, data needed to examine these effects are not readily available. Second, identifying such effects requires properly addressing potential endogeneity problems affecting the relationship...

Este análisis presenta un diagnóstico y señala los principales desafíos y alternativas de política que Costa Rica ha de enfrentar en la actual coyuntura en relación con su proceso de integración económica con el mundo. También se señalan posibles apoyos del Banco para abordar algunos...

This paper assesses role played by export promotion institutions in shaping the extensive margin of Latin American and Caribbean countries' exports over the period 1995-2004. The authors find that the presence of offices of export promotion agencies abroad favors an increase in the number of...

Virtually all Latin American and Caribbean countries have established specialized organizations to promote their exports. Existing analyses of these organizations are at best partial and fragmentary. This paper aims at overcoming these limitations of the literature by presenting a consistent,...

This presentation argues that trade policy in the region has been too focused on removing tariffs, to the detriment of trade facilitation, particularly in transportation. It explores the impact of transport costs on trade in Latin America and the Caribbean, and argues that transport costs have...

This presentation aims at analyzing the impact of institutional and systemic effects of clustering and its consequences on upgrading and differentiation and division of labor in the electronics industry in Malaysia. The methodological approach consists of case studies. Two centers within the...

This paper provides evidence on the channels through which export promotion institutions affect bilateral trade using a sample of Latin American and Caribbean countries over the period 1995-2004. We find that these institutions have a larger impact on the extensive margin of exports, especially...

Do all exporters benefit the same from export promotion programs? Surprisingly, not matter how obvious this question may a priori be when thinking of the effectiveness of these programs there is virtually no empirical evidence on how they affect export performance in different parts of the...

Export promotion agencies provide exporters with a broad range of services, going from counseling to sponsoring their participation in international trade missions and fairs. These services may have heterogeneous effects and thus contribute differently to achieve the goals of these...

How effective are export promotion activities in developing countries? What are the channels through which export promotion affects firms' exports, the intensive margin or the extensive margin? Empirical evidence in this respect is scarce. We aim at filling this gap in the literature by...