This study analyses the relationships between competitiveness in manufacturing and the quality of key supporting services. Three indicators of competitiveness are considered: the degree of product differentiation, unit prices obtained in export markets and the duration of trade. The density of...

This paper presents the services trade restrictiveness indices (STRIs) for telecommunications. The STRIs are composite indices taking values between zero and one, zero representing an open market and one a market completely closed to foreign services providers. The indices are calculated for 40...

Since the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) came into force, Members have invested considerable efforts in adopting and promoting the use of measures intended to reduce conformity assessment (CA) related barriers to trade. Our knowledge of the impact of specific trade...

This paper applies the most advanced methodologies for measuring services barriers to calculate the restrictiveness and the impact of services barriers in selected transition economies, i.e. the Baltic States, and eight South Eastern European (SEE) countries (for telecommunications and banking)...

This paper examines China's emergence as a global player in international markets over the last few decades. It provides an overview of China's trade policy environment following the country's process of market opening and joining the WTO. The report analyses China’s role in international...

This report proposes an analysis of the mutually reinforcing relationship between trade, investment and competition policies and how together they impact trade in developing countries. An index of pro-competitive reforms is provided for 82 countries over the period 2001-2005. The index...

This paper presents improved approaches to measurement of services barriers by using alternative weighting methods and improved econometric specifications; the data include barriers affecting each mode of services supply and additional sector-specific regulatory variables. We provide an...