Using a new global data base on patents and innovation inputs, the authors examine the process of knowledge creation measured by the dynamic relationship between research and development and U.S. patents granted. They confirm at the country level the recurrent micro-level finding of a strong...

The United States imports around 25% of its merchandise under some form of preferential trade agreement. This paper examines the relative impacts of these programs on the value of imports from different trading partners. We address four technical but policy-relevant issues: (1) We consider not...

What makes the work of Sachs and Warner (1995a, 1997a, 1997b, 1999) distinct from previous pessimistic arguments about the growth potential of natural resources is their reliance on econometric analysis. Our aim is to take the authors’ model specification as given, but we ask the following...

Chenery and Syrquin (1975) established the “stylized fact†about the evolution of the agricultural sector through the process of development, whereby agriculture’s share in national GDP tends to decline with development. Does this mean that from a policy point of view resources...

La Revista Integración & Comercio del BID incluye artículos referidos a las distintas manifestaciones del proceso de integración en América Latina y el Caribe, a la integración hemisférica y, también, a los procesos con igual orientación que se llevan a cabo en otras partes del mundo....

Estimates of labor mobility costs are needed to assess the responses of employment and wages to trade shocks when factor adjustment is costly. Available methods to estimate those costs rely on panel data, which are seldom available in developing countries. The authors propose a method to...

Although the Latin American region's growth rates are at a three decade high, they have been historically disappointing in relative terms, which cannot be dissociated from the microeconomic environment in which firms operate. Policy makers may need to complement their focus on macroeconomic...

Analyzing the experience of Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 'Lessons from NAFTA' aims to provide guidance to Latin American and Caribbean countries considering free trade agreements with the United States. The authors conclude that the treaty raised external trade...

Purpose – This article aims to provide two analytical frameworks for understanding the role of trade in promoting inclusive growth in developing economies. Design/methodology/approach – A working definition of inclusive growth focuses on long-term, sustained growth associated with...