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Trade reform in Latin America in the 1980s and 1990s was in significant part a reform of policy-making institutions. The institutions that existed when the reforms began had been created in response to particular protectionist pressures at particular times, and afterward they were controlled by the interests on whose behalf they had been created. This book was prompted by preliminary evidence suggesting that the reforms have been better sustained in Peru than in Argentina. Peru has continued its liberalization whereas Argentina has imposed a number of new trade restrictions. Moreover, decisions on many of Argentina's restrictions have not gone through the new mechanisms. The objective of this book is to draw lessons from Peruvian and Argentine experience that will be useful to governments that want to maintain an open trade regime. From a positive perspective, the authors want to identify what the Peruvian government has done that has kept its liberalization moving forward. The Peru study focuses on how reform leaders in that country have reinforced the evolution of a new management culture and how they have disseminated widely in Peruvian society a positive vision of Peru in the international economy.

Recent globalization has been characterized by a decline in the costs of cross-border trade in farm and other products. It has been driven primarily by the information and communication technology revolution and—in the case of farm products—by reductions in governmental distortions to agricultural production, consumption and trade. Both have boosted economic growth and reduced poverty globally, especially in Asia. The first but maybe not the second of these drivers will continue in coming decades. World food prices will depend also on whether (and if so by how much) farm productivity growth continues to outpace demand growth and to what extent diets in emerging economies move towards livestock and horticultural products at the expense of staples. Demand in turn will be driven not only by population and income growth, but also by crude oil prices if they remain at current historically high levels, since that will affect biofuel demand. Climate change mitigation policies and adaptation, water market developments and market access standards particularly for transgenic foods will add to future production, price and trade uncertainties.

The Kyrgyz Republic has made major strides in the past decade in its transition to a market-based economy. Its trade and investment policies are arguably the most liberal among the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Despite the generally progressive stance on structural policies and a sound record of macroeconomic management in recent years, economic growth has been modest, living standards are low, a large burden of external debt has accumulated, and integration into global production and trade remains limited. The growth agenda must address more carefully the constraints to greater supply-side response to ongoing reforms—an agenda that can facilitate a broad-based growth of economic activity and exports. Risks to sustainability of current growth rates and continued poverty reduction will otherwise remain high as will the economy’s vulnerability to external shocks. This report is aimed at assisting authorities fashioning this agenda by focusing on three key challenges:Identifying strategic options to strengthen prospects for medium- and long-term growth and poverty reduction; Assessing ways of leveraging domestic trade policy reforms and existing regional and multilateral trade agreements for further regional and global integration; and Identifying key areas where greater efforts are necessary to facilitate improvements in enterprise capability and productivity.

An independent evaluation of the World Bank??s extensive support to developing countries on trade issues between 1987 and 2004. The study assesses the development effectiveness of World Bank trade-related advocacy, capacity-building, lending and research. It examines the extent to which the Bank??s policies and assistance have met its stated objectives in the area of trade and makes recommendations to strengthen the effectiveness of future Bank trade assistance.

Developing Countries, Agriculture and the WTO explores the key issues and options in agricultural trade liberalization from a developing country perspective. The handbook is of particular interest for both developed and developing countries. Chapters cover market access, domestic support, export competition, quota administration methods, food security, biotechnology, intellectual property rights, agricultural trade under the URAA, and many other subjects, always focusing on the question of how the outcome of the WTO negotiations can be made pro-development. Readers are assumed to have at least a basic knowledge of agricultural trade, although many may also be experts in their own areas. Material is covered in summary and in comprehensive detail with supporting data tables, text boxes, figures, and a detailed table of contents. Many chapters have a substantial bibliography, listings of online resources, and tables summarizing the major points of WTO member country proposals that deal directly with each chapter topic.

Unlocking Caribbean Trade Potential: Policy Options for Growth and Poverty Reduction Is the Caribbean ready to thrive in the global market? This World Bank Country Study offers a comprehensive analysis of trade and integration challenges and opportunities in the Caribbean, providing policy options for sustained growth, job creation, and poverty reduction. Explore strategies for: * Accelerating trade integration and improving competitiveness * Addressing macroeconomic and structural constraints * Leveraging the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) * Capitalizing on a changing international environment For policymakers, economists, and development practitioners seeking actionable insights to shape a more prosperous Caribbean future.

As the world marketplace becomes ever more globalized, much is at stake for the prosperity of hundreds of millions of people in Europe and Central Asia as the region’s transition process continues through its second decade. Understanding the underlying dynamics shaping the contours and most salient impacts of international integration that have emerged—and likely to emerge prospectively—in the region is thus a crucial challenge for the medium term economic development agenda, not only for policymakers in the countries on themselves, but also for their trading partners, the international financial institutions, the donor community and the future of the world trading system as a whole. This book addresses this challenge.

Although there is no unanimous consensus on how trade openness affects different economies, the debate around trade openness has received considerable attention in previous studies. In the light of the emerging debates on different aspects of trade openness, this article aims at exploring the dynamics of trade openness in South Africa. Using an exploratory review approach, this article traces the origins of trade openness in South Africa, covering the country's import substitution regime and the export promotion regime. The findings of this study reveal that South Africa has been economically reformed from an inward-oriented import substitution trade regime into a more open, export-oriented trade regime. However, given the current challenge of fluctuating trade openness in South Africa, the country could in the long-term, seek the expansion of its bilateral trade in the sub-Saharan African region. This could be done by making provisions in South Africa's trade policy that aim at deepening regional trade.