All preferential trading agreements (PTAs) short of a customs union use rules of origin (ROO) to prevent trade deflection. ROO raise production costs and create administrative costs. This paper argues that in the case of the recent wave of North-South PTAs, the presence of ROO virtually limits...

This paper explores how political-economy forces shape quantitative barriers against the rest of the world in an FTA. We show that whereas the dilution of lobbying power in an FTA typically leads to a relaxation of external quotas, this result is likely to be overturned as integration deepens....

This paper documents a decreasing trend in the geographical concentration of EU agrofood imports. Decomposing the concentration indices into intensive and extensive margins components, we find that the decrease in overall concentration indices results from two diverging trends: the pattern of...

This paper investigates whether the Pesticides Initiative Program has signicantly affected the export performance of Senegal’s horticulture industry. We apply two main microeconometric techniques, difference-in-differences and matching difference-in-differences, to identify the effect of the...

Recent years have seen a surge in regional trade agreements (RTAs) and the development of non-tariff measures (NTMs). As a consequence, a growing number of RTAs include provisions on NTMs. This paper investigates the effect of standards-harmonization clauses contained in many North-South...

Recent years have seen a surge in regional trade agreements (RTAs) and the development of non-tariff measures (NTMs). As a consequence, a growing number of RTAs include provisions on NTMs. This paper investigates the effect of standards-harmonization clauses contained in many North-South...

The demand for accountability in “Aid-for-Trade” (AFT) is increasing but monitoring has focused on case-studies and impressionistic narratives. The paper reviews recent evidence from a wide range of studies, recognizing that a multiplicity of approaches is needed to learn what works and what...

This paper surveys the empirical literature on export and import diversification and its linkages with growth. We review widely-used measures of diversification and the evidence about their evolution focusing on how export diversification relates to trade liberalization and economic development....

This paper investigates whether the Pesticides Initiative Program has signicantly affected the export performance of Senegal’s horticulture industry. We apply two main microeconometric techniques, difference-in-differences and matching difference-in-differences, to identify the effect of the...

This paper surveys the empirical literature on export and import diversification and its linkages with growth. We review widely-used measures of diversification and the evidence about their evolution focusing on how export diversification relates to trade liberalization and economic development....