Trade monitoring
SMEs in international trade: Stylized facts
Every firm that contemplates expanding its operations in a foreign country has to choose a specific market entry strategy. As trade is the most common form of internationalization for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), this section surveys available statistical evidence on the participation of SMEs in international trade in both developed and developing economies, and how their activities relate to traditional trade flows and to trade in the context of global value chains. The objective is to provide an accurate and detailed description of the SME trade landscape, but also to identify important gaps in information and data coverage.
Introduction
The Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) was first established on a trial basis by the GATT contracting parties in April 1989. The Mechanism became a permanent feature of the World Trade Organization under the Marrakesh Agreement which established the WTO in January 1995.
Redistribution policies in a globalized world
Does the process of economic globalization curtail the capacity of national governments to pursue autonomous economic policies at home? Does the growing cross-border mobility of factors (and its associated threat of capital flight) discipline governments and limit the level of taxes and of public spending? Is economic integration inimical to redistribution at home? If trade and financial liberalization lead to higher levels of within-country inequality (or, at least, the emergence of economic sectors that bear significant economic losses), can states develop economically sustainable policies to compensate those made worse off by trade reforms? In fact, are there any particular policies that can make economic globalization and fair social policies at home (designed to share the gains from trade) compatible?