International Trade and related Economic Statistics
Trade and business statistics have common features starting with the fact that in the end the businesses are the ones making decisions on trading internationally and on making other kinds of international business arrangements, such as FDI, establishing foreign affiliates and outsourcing of business functions. These statistics include international merchandise trade statistics, statistics of international trade in services, foreign affiliates statistics, and foreign direct investment statistics; and links trade and business statistics to gain insights into the impact of globalization on competitiveness, employment, innovation and economic success.
The paper focuses on systemically important jurisdictions in the global trade network, complementing recent IMF work on systemically important financial sectors. Using the IMF’s Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS) database and network analysis, the paper develops a framework for ranking jurisdictions based on trade size and trade nterconnectedness indicators using data for 2000 and 2010. The results show a near perfect overlap between the top 25 systemically important trade and financial jurisdictions, suggesting that these ought to be the focus of risk-based surveillance on cross-border spillovers and contagion. In addition, a number of extensions to the approach are developed that can provide a better understanding of trade dynamics at the bilateral, regional, and global levels.
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Entering and successfully surviving in export markets is a costly process for firms. Key steps for success include learning
about the existence of foreign demand, determining the production costs of exportable goods, building a high-quality
reputation, succeeding in product branding to reduce competitive pressures, constant upgrading of quality standards to
better serve demanding international clients, and remaining competitive with other players in the global marketplace.
Drawing on the findings of recent research (Reis and Varela 2013), this note argues that tourism can help alleviate some
of these costs by providing a relatively inexpensive platform for cost discovery and acting as a low-cost in-house trade fair,
accessible to all domestic producers.
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New Opportunities and Strategies for Structural Transformation in developing countries
Justin Li
2011
When the World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER) was established in 1984 as the first research and training center of the United Nations University under the visionary leadership of then Secretary General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, its mandate was set out quite clearly: ―To undertake multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on structural changes affecting the living conditions of the world's poorest people; To provide a forum for professional interaction and the advocacy of policies leading to robust, equitable and environmentally sustainable growth; and To promote capacity strengthening and training for scholars and government officials in the field of economic and social policy making.‖ Since then, WIDER has contributed enormously to the strengthening of the development knowledge.
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This fifth edition of the Internationalisation Monitor describes recent developments in international trade in goods and services, foreign direct investment, multinational enterprises, and traffic and transport. In addition, four analytical chapters provide an in-depth analysis of enterprise dynamics and the role of (increasing) internationalisation in this respect.
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In recent years, global value chains have played an increasing role in business strategies, profoundly affecting international trade and development paradigms. Global value chains now represent a major source of socio-upgrading opportunities and a new path for development. Trade, competitiveness and development policies should be reshaped accordingly to seize these opportunities and avoid the risks associated with greater participation in global value chains. This paper provides a framework and analytical tools for measuring and improving a country's performance with respect to participation in global value chains. With a clear operational focus, it provides guidance for countries willing to join, maintain participation, and/or move up global value chains.
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Special Topic: Services' Contribution to Manufacturing
2013
The U.S. International Trade Commission’s latest update in this series of reports presents results on the economic effects on the U.S. economy of removing significant U.S. import restraints, including U.S. tariffs and tariff-rate quotas on certain agricultural products, textiles and apparel, and other manufactured products.
The Commission estimates that liberalization of all significant import restraints quantified in this update would increase annual U.S. welfare by $1.1 billion by 2017.
The eighth update also features a special topic chapter on the role of services in manufacturing, which explores trends in U.S. manufacturers’ use of services and the contribution of services to manufacturing output and productivity.
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Andrew B. Bernard
Andreas Moxnes
Karen-Helene Ulltveit-Moe
2013
Discussions of international trade often focus on aggregate trade flows, but it is firms that trade, not countries. This column presents evidence from Norwegian export data showing that larger exporters have more customers and greater dispersion in customer size. Moreover, exporters with many customers tend to sell to importers with few suppliers. These stylised facts are captured by a model in which finding a buyer is costly. The model’s prediction that export responses are amplified in destinations with less buyer dispersion is confirmed in the data.
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