The World Bank and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) jointly prepared a new global data set of bilateral trade costs based on trade and production data. Accessible on the World Bank Open Data Web site, it opens new analytical possibilities for...

Chapter VI synthesizes the findings and key messages emerging from this study and presents policy recommendations with regard to fostering IPN participation by countries that are still lagging behind. The recommendations hold important implications for India and other developing Asian countries...

While much has been said about the need to promote intraregional trade and the importance of reducing associated trade costs, quantitative estimates of such costs have been lacking. In this paper a new comprehensive measure of international trade costs is applied to calculate, according to...

This paper evaluates the potential contribution of both trade and non-trade specific business facilitation measures to trade and export competitiveness, as well as the potential gains from adopting a more integrated and coherent approach to trade and business (investment) facilitation.