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WTO Working Papers
WTO working papers usually represent research in progress. Such research may be conducted in the preparation of WTO Secretariat reports, studies or other material for WTO members. The papers are circulated for comment because the WTO considers critical review of professional research to be extremely important.
61 - 80 of 286 results
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Digital Connectivity & E-Commerce
Publication Date: June 2018More LessDigital networks are an increasingly critical component of global trade. In 2017, the Global Review of Aid for Trade highlighted the importance of accessible and affordable connections for trade connectivity. Drawing extensively on information harvested in the Monitoring and Evaluation exercise in preparation for the Review, this paper analyses aid for trade for digital connectivity and e-commerce.
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WTO Trade Monitoring Ten Years on Lessons Learned and Challenges Ahead
Publication Date: May 2018More LessA decade has passed since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008. Less than a month after the collapse of the investment bank Lehman Brothers, an internal Secretariat Task Force was established by the WTO Director-General to monitor the trade related developments associated with the global financial crisis.
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How Does the Regular Work of WTO Influence Regional Trade Agreements?
Publication Date: May 2018More LessThis paper illustrates how the work of the WTO's standing committees is fuelling regulatory cooperation between WTO members, and inspiring RTA negotiators.
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Specialization Within Global Value Chains
Publication Date: April 2018More LessThis paper studies the factors of comparative advantage within global value chains relying on a framework where comparative advantage is measured through the interaction of country and industry characteristics.
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Recent Trade Dynamics in Asia
Publication Date: March 2018More LessThis paper looks at the extent to which the shift in the lower value added production to countries in the following development "tier" is actually becoming a reality.
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Can Economic Sanctions be Effective?
Publication Date: March 2018More LessWhile economic sanctions may be attractive policy tools for governments wanting to express discontent with a country's behaviour, it is arguable if from an economic perspective sanctions can achieve the change that is often envisaged through the punitive measures taken. In fact, the literature does not present conclusive evidence that economic sanctions are an effective policy instrument. Nevertheless the number of sanction episodes is on the rise and have increasingly gained in popularity in recent years. What can explain that?
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Competition Agency Guidelines and Policy Initiatives Regarding the Application of Competition Law Vis-À-Vis Intellectual Property
Publication Date: March 2018More LessCompetition agency guidelines, policy statements and related advocacy are an important vehicle for policy expression and the guidance of firms across the full spectrum of anti-competitive practices and market conduct.
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Least-Developed Countries, Transfer of Technology and the Trips Agreement
Publication Date: February 2018More LessThis paper examines the background of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement, the nature of this obligation on developed country Members that pertains to the promotion of technology transfer to LDC Members and how it is being implemented and how such implementation is being monitored in the TRIPS Council.
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Trade, Technology, and Prosperity
Publication Date: November 2017More LessTrade and technological change continually alter the workplace and labor-market outcomes, with consequences for economy-wide welfare and the distribution of real incomes.
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When Bad Trade Policy Costs Human Lives
Publication Date: October 2017More LessMany developing countries still levy tariffs on mosquito nets, thereby discouraging their use and contributing to the spread of diseases such as malaria and dengue. Focusing on sub-Saharan Africa, the paper shows to which extent such tariffs are in place and, based on existing elasticity figures, calculates the cost of this policy.
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The Application of Competition Policy Vis-À-Vis Intellectual Property Rights
Publication Date: September 2017More LessThis paper examines the evolution of national competition (antitrust) policies and enforcement approaches vis-à-vis intellectual property rights (IPRs) and associated anti-competitive practices in major jurisdictions over the past several decades. It focuses especially on the underlying process of economic learning that has, the authors suggest, driven relevant policy changes.
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The Contribution of Services Trade Policies to Connectivity in the Context of Aid for Trade
Publication Date: September 2017More LessThis paper examines how services trade and policies contribute to connectivity. It highlights the economic relevance of services and identifies some key channels through which trade in services contributes to physical and digital connectivity. The paper examines the impact of services trade policies on connectivity in view of recent research showing their impact on sectoral performance, economic welfare and development. Finally, it discusses the positive contribution that aid for trade can make in support of services policies.
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Provisions on Electronic Commerce in Regional Trade Agreements
Publication Date: July 2017More LessThis paper reviews the different types of provisions explicitly addressing electronic commerce (e-commerce) in regional trade agreements (RTAs). The analysis covers the 275 RTAs currently in force and notified to the WTO as of May 2017.
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Georgia's Post-Accession Structural Reform Challenges
Publication Date: June 2017More LessThe process leading to WTO accession is complex, requires solid domestic coordination mechanisms in the acceding country, a rethinking of its economic and trade policies and significant domestic structural reforms. It often implies the creation of new institutions designed to coordinate and implement the policies at the national level, as was the case in Georgia.
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The Falling Elasticity of Global Trade to Economic Activity
Publication Date: April 2017More LessSince the recovery from the great financial crisis in 2010, global real trade flows grew much slower than pre-crisis, in both absolute terms (growth rates) and relative terms (relative to GDP, from 2:1 in the great 1990's to 1:1 since 2012) A debate has arisen as to whether this global trade slowdown, and related falling trade-to-income elasticity, was structural or cyclical.
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Interplay Between Patents and Standards in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Sector and its Relevance to the Implementation of the WTO Agreements
Publication Date: April 2017More LessThe interplay between patents and standards in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector has been intensively debated at international, regional and national levels over the past decades. In essence, the debate is firstly about the extent and impact of patent holdup and holdout in the ICT sector, and then about how to eliminate or reduce these practices.
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Trade Issues Affecting Disaster Response
Publication Date: March 2017More LessThe frequency, severity and economic impact of natural disasters are growing. Import surges resulting from disaster-response efforts can highlight underlying structural failings in the border clearance regimes of disaster-affected countries.
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Does Trade Openness Contribute to Driving Financing Flows for Development?
Publication Date: March 2017More LessTrade has been recognized in the 2030 development Agenda as well as in the Addis Ababa Agenda for Action as an important means for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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An Empirical Assessment of the Economic Effects of WTO Accession and its Commitments
Publication Date: February 2017More LessBesides facilitating access to the world market, WTO accession negotiations entail a process of domestic reforms that are expected to improve the supply side of acceding economies. However, measuring the actual impact of accession remains an empirical debate.
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The Revised WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA)
Publication Date: January 2017More LessThe WTO's plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement ("the GPA" or "the Agreement") is an important ongoing success story for the Organization. In March 2012, the GPA Parties completed a comprehensive revision of the Agreement, encompassing both its text and coverage (market access commitments). The revised GPA, the negotiating processes that led to its adoption and coming into force, and the continuing gradual broadening of its membership are of therefore interest for the evolution of the international trading system. The GPA's successful renegotiation, the continuing growth of its membership and its vitality as an instrument of public policy were not achieved through happenstance. The paper discusses a number of specific design features of the GPA that clearly facilitated the successful conclusion of the renegotiation and that, as such, may in the future be relevant to other areas of global trade liberalization. In addition to the Agreement's plurilateral nature, of particular interest are the approach taken with respect to application of the most-favored-nation (MFN) principle in the Agreement; the GPA's continuing strong emphasis on principles of reciprocity in market access concessions; and its approach to special and differential treatment for developing countries, in all of which it differs from approaches that are widely used in other WTO Agreements. Apart from the above, the GPA revision is important for the merging of trade and good governance concerns that it exemplifies. As discussed in the paper, the themes of governance and the sound management of public resources that are treated in the revised Agreement were not afterthoughts to the renegotiation; rather, they permeated the revised text and received focused attention from the Parties in their own right. As well, the GPA has direct implications for investment policy and for domestic economic reforms, and is an important tool of e-commerce. And, the revision has made possible very significant synergies between the GPA and other international instruments and activities in reducing barriers to participation and strengthening governance in public procurement markets. For all these reasons, the revised Agreement is likely to have a wider impact than meets the eye, and well merits the support and attention that it has received from the participating WTO Member governments.
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