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General Issues of International Trade Statistics

This block gives the general economic outlooks and their relation to international trade, as for instance given in UN/DESA's World Economic Situation and Prospects, in UNCTAD's World Investment Reports, and in national contributions such as Japan's White Paper on International Economy and Trade. It addresses related policy questions, such as the effects of globalization on economic growth, innovation, employment and sustainability, and the impact of international trade on job creation, taking into account the trading partner country or the kinds of product traded.

ALL AVAILABLE PUBLICATIONS

The full list of all available publications related to "General Issues of International Trade Statistics" can be found HERE.

Publications

Potential Effects of the Proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership on Selected Developing Countries

Jim Rollo Peter Holmes Spencer Henson 2013
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This paper evaluates some of the potential effects of EU-US TTIP economic integration on the trade in goods of 43 low-income countries (LIC) listed in Table 1. It first assesses the impact of removing the most-favoured nation (MFN) tariffs that apply to trade between the EU and the US. It then examines the impact of regulatory integration on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and technical barriers to trade (TBT) on LIC. These tariff and non-tariff barrier (NTB) assessments reached similar conclusions. more »

Tags: developing countries' prospects trade and development trade liberalization

Taking stock of reform action and identifying priorities in 2013

Going for Growth
OECD 2013

Structural reforms have gained momentum in the aftermath of the recent recession. This has been driven in part by market pressures in the context of the euro area crisis and by discussions and co-ordinated efforts in multilateral settings such as the G20.1 There is increasing awareness of the necessity to accompany macroeconomic stabilisation policies with structural reforms. Yet, given the weakness of near-term demand prospects, the limited scope for macro policies to further stimulate demand and the still less than fully functioning financial sector in many countries, there is a risk that the benefits from reform may take more time to materialise than in a normal conjuncture... more »

Tags: economic growth job creation trade and development

The goliaths

The fate of large firms helps explain economic volatility
The Economist 2013
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Because economies are built of millions of firms and trading relationships, individual companies and export channels should not matter. Yet aggregate shocks do not explain volatility very well. Common shocks (to whole countries or global industries) explain only 45% of the variations. The data show that the picture of trade as millions of links is inaccurate; in fact, flows are extremely concentrated. A widely held view is that trade lowers volatility: exporting to more markets means greater diversification. But more foreign trade exposes economies more to the fortunes of large firms, since they trade disproportionately. more »

Tags: firm-level data world trade

World Development Report 2013 - Jobs

2012
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Jobs provide higher earnings and better benefits as countries grow, but they are also a driver of development. Poverty falls as people work their way out of hardship and as jobs empowering women lead to greater investments in children. Efficiency increases as workers get better at what they do, as more productive jobs appear, and less productive ones disappear. Societies flourish as jobs bring together people from different ethnic and social backgrounds and provide alternatives to conflict. Jobs are thus more than a byproduct of economic growth. They are transformational—they are what we earn, what we do, and even who we are. High unemployment and unmet job expectations among youth are the most immediate concerns. But in many developing countries, where farming and self-employment are prevalent and safety nets are modest at best, unemployment rates can be low. In these countries, growth is seldom jobless. Most of the poor work long hours but simply cannot make ends meet. And the violation of basic rights is not uncommon. more »

Tags: employment job creation