Evidence indicates that trade costs are a much more substantial barrier to trade than tariffs are, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper decomposes trade costs into: (i) trade facilitation, (ii) non-tariff barriers, and (iii) the costs of business services. The paper assesses the poverty...

This paper explores the economic impacts of two related tracks of China's expected transformation?economic slowdown and rebalancing away from investment toward consumption?and estimates the spillovers for the rest of the world, with a special focus on Sub-Saharan African countries. The paper...

Africa will be undergoing substantial demographic changes in the coming decades with the rising working age share of its population. The opportunity of African countries to convert these changes into demographic dividends for growth and poverty reduction will depend on several factors. The...

After an impressive acceleration in growth and poverty reduction since the mid-1990s, many African countries continue to register robust growth in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Will this growth persist, given the tepid recovery in developed countries, numerous weather shocks, and...

As preferential trade agreements are growing in number and depth, assessment of their economic impacts has become more important to inform policy-makers facing a multitude of potential preferential trade agreements. This paper provides novel ex ante estimates of the impacts of two key...

The virus that triggered a localized shock in China is now delivering a significant global shock. This study simulates the potential impact of COVID-19 on gross domestic product and trade, using a standard global computable general equilibrium model. It models the shock as underutilization of...

China's Belt and Road Initiative aims to improve connectivity between China and more than 70 countries through infrastructure investment and regional cooperation. The initiative has the potential to accelerate significantly the rate of economic integration and development in the region, as trade...

In developing countries, younger and better-educated cohorts are entering the workforce. This developing world-led education wave is altering the skill composition of the global labor supply, and impacting income distribution, at the national and global levels. This paper analyzes how this...

Drawing on international trade data, this paper uses the product space approach to analyze changes in Morocco?s goods exports in 1990?2010 and future export priorities. The level of Morocco?s gross domestic product and its moderate growth match the predictions of product space analysis, informed...

The United Nations 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals are comprehensive and holistic in nature, encompassing 17 goals and 169 targets covering economic, social, and environmental dimensions of development. Countries face the challenge of translating the Sustainable Development...