Better information on how services policies vary across economies and sectors over time would improve the empirical analysis of their impact. This paper describes the Services Trade Policy Database (STPD), a joint initiative by the World Bank and the WTO Secretariat, which builds on a database...

This paper highlights India’s unique services export led growth path. Observing that Indian business services have helped manufacturers all over the world to become more efficient and productive, it raises the question how Indian business services can do the same for local manufacturers and...

This paper analyzes the linkage between services and manufacturing productivity performance, using firm-level data for over 100 developing countries. We find strong evidence for such a linkage, although the effect is small: at the average rate of services input intensity, a 10% improvement in...

Are changes in services markets provoking reform, restrictions, or inertia? To address this question, we draw upon a new World Bank-WTO Services Trade Policy Database (STPD) to analyse the services trade policies of 68 economies in 23 subsectors across five broad areas - financial services,...

Are changes in services markets provoking reform, restrictions, or inertia? To address this question, we draw upon a new World Bank-WTO Services Trade Policy Database (STPD) to analyse the services trade policies of 68 economies in 23 subsectors across five broad areas—financial services,...

This paper uses data on policy measures affecting services operation and trade to document and estimate the impact of different types of policy measures on services exports and imports, with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. It finds that market-entry measures are important to both...

Global trade growth has slowed since 2012 relative both to its strong historical performance and to overall economic growth. This paper aims to quantify the role of weak economic growth and changes in its decomposition in accounting for the slowdown in trade using a reduced form and a structural...

A complicated global economic situation has a negative effect on development of the foreign economic sphere of the Russian Federation. Early in 2013, worsening of the trade balance of the Russian Federation was observed: with reduction of export supplies import has increased. The member-states...

Early in 2015, a drop in the main indices of the Russian foreign trade amounted to the 2009 crisis level. The existing non-tariff barriers between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus highly complicate trade

In April 2014, differently directed dynamics of export and import was observed and, as a result, the trade balance surplus increased. In the foreign trade turnover of the Russian Federation, the share of CIS countries has kept decreasing. G-20 countries continue to apply protectionist measures...