This paper analyzes a prominent dimension of the initial policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic observed in many countries: the imposition of export restrictions and actions to facilitate imports. Using weekly data on the use of trade policy instruments during the first seven months of the...

Existing research generally finds weak positive effects of aid for trade (AfT) on aggregate merchandise trade of recipients once endogeneity in the AfT-trade relationship is accounted for. In this paper, we confirm weak findings for both aggregate merchandise and services trade of recipients,...

The empirical literature on aid for trade (AfT) mainly considers its effects on merchandise trade and investment. In this paper we examine the relationship between AfT and trade in services as well as trade in goods over 2002-2015 in both aggregate and bilateral analysis. We observe...

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...

This paper presents new high frequency data on trade policy changes targeting medical and food products since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, documenting how countries used trade policy instruments in response to the health crisis on a week-by-week basis. The dataset reveals a rapid...

In their meta-analysis of estimates of the impact of technical barriers to trade, Li and Beghin (2012) note that studies using pesticides Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) tend to find more trade impeding effects, but these studies do not directly address the problem of endogeneity in the...

In the absence of a national public procurement policy, a plethora of rules and procedures govern public purchase practices of federal and sub-federal government entities including public sector enterprises (PSEs) in India. While these norms generally follow international best practices, their...

Recent work on labour market effects of globalization has generated both academic and populist interests. However, this work has focussed exclusively on the manufacturing sector. Moreover, general equilibrium effects of globalization have received little attention. This study contributes to...

Since about a decade, we have seen a surge in interest as well as in the use of services preferentialism and unilateral services regulations. This paper provides an economic explanation of services regulation and services preferentialism, including their interaction. The paper derives hypotheses...

Global services trade declined by 20% during 2020 with significant heterogeneity across countries, geographical regions and sectors. The decline was correlated with COVID-19-case incidence; stringency of imposed lockdowns; the decline in merchandise trade; and with different ways of transacting...