We study the effect of services trade restrictiveness on manufacturing productivity for a broad cross-section of countries at different stages of economic development. Decreasing services trade restrictiveness has a positive indirect impact on the manufacturing sectors that use services as...

Many agreements to liberalize trade in services tend to be limited in scope. Concerns about possible negative regulatory consequences of services liberalization is one reason for this. In this paper we provide quantitative estimates of the impact of governance quality on the magnitude of the...

Assessing the effects of subsidies is complicated, given the need to consider linkages within and across supply chain networks. A precondition for determining whether existing WTO disciplines on subsidies are adequate is better information and more empirical research on the extent to which...

This paper investigates the relationship between the quality of regulatory policies governing public procurement and participation in public tenders by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Using a large dataset on European procurement contracts, we find that countries with better quality...

At the 9th Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Bali it was agreed to develop a work program to conclude the long-running Doha round. This report argues that any work program should recognize that goods and services are increasingly produced in international supply chains. Many of the policies...

This paper exploits a firm-level dataset for nineteen Sub-Sharan African countries that provides information on the share of total sales to government entities to provide new insights into the relative importance of participation in public procurement activity for different types of firms. We...

The deadlock in the WTO Doha Round has been accompanied by an increased focus on the negotiation of preferential trade agreements, including so-called ‘mega-regionals'. This paper discusses possible implications for — and possible responses by — excluded countries that have little...

This paper reviews elements of the history of association agreements between the EU and countries that are covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). It considers the rationale for negotiation of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas with neighbouring countries based on research that...

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a mechanism through which countries can upgrade connectivity-related infrastructure, including through cross-border projects, complementing traditional sources of finance. An overarching goal of the BRI is to reduce trade costs between China and partner...

By prohibiting subsidies that support illegal, unregulated or unreported fishing activities and contribute to unsustainable depletion of marine resources, the 2022 Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) is the first WTO treaty to recognize that a specific trade policy instrument can have adverse...