Trade has played a critical role in global poverty reduction. In harnessing the potential of trade, some of the most successful countries have developed strong trade relationships with their neighbors. However, many South Asian countries have trade regimes that often offset the positive impact...

Port Development and Competition in East and Southern Africa analyzes the 15 main ports in East and Southern Africa (ESA) to assess whether their proposed capacity enhancements are justified by current and projected demand; whether the current port management approaches sufficiently address not...

After a period of rapid economic growth associated with high commodity prices, the Latin America andCaribbean region has again entered a phase of lackluster performance. Overall this slowdown seems moreself-inflicted than imported, and the outlook for the region is not encouraging either. A...

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement will create the largest free-trade area in the world, measured by the number of countries participating. The pact connects 1.3 billion people across 55 countries with a combined GDP valued at USD 3.4 trillion. It has the potential to...

Part I of this report discusses the short- and medium-term growth prospects for countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The region is expected to grow at a subdued rate of 0.6 percent in 2019, rising to 2.6 percent in 2020 and 2.9 percent in 2021. The growth forecast for 2019 is...

Regional integration in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is crucial for its further economic development and, more importantly, its structural transformation away from agriculture towards higher value-added activities, such as manufacturing and services. Yet there are many paths towards greater...

In the last decades, slow growth and job creation have encouraged emigration, further dampening domestic sources of growth in Nepal. Tepid growth over the past decade, the slowest in the region, has resulted in few jobs being created, leading to more Nepalese workers seeking opportunities...

The rise of global value chains (GVCs) is one of the most important transformation in global trade and investment occurred in the last decades. Once concentrated among a few large economies, global flows of goods, services, and capital now reach an ever larger number of economies worldwide....

As a small, landlocked economy, Nepal's development prospects are closely tied to its ability to increase integration in the regional and global marketplace. Despite significant changes in Nepal's trade sector over the past decade, the country's export performance has remained poor, with exports...

As Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) approaches end 2015, this report takes stock of the progress to date and draws out lessons for the next stage of ASEAN's connectivity journey. The realization of an integrated ASEAN community demands connectedness vis improved and expanded...