Research Interests: Economics, International Economics, International Trade, Economic Theory, Information Policy, and 15 moreEconomic policy, Capacity Building, Urban Development, Trade, Trade Facilitation, Trade and Development, Social Science Research Network, Trade Policy, Gravity Model, Facilitation, Joint production, Bilateral trade, Service Sector, Gains From Trade, and Trade flows
Research Interests: Business, Economics, Development Economics, Health Economics, Science Education, and 12 moreEconomic Theory, Economic policy, Production economics, Developing Country, Firm-Level Data, World Trade Organization, Statistical Significance, Technical Barriers to Trade, Developing nations, Value added, Production Cost, and Econometric Model
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This paper examines how the stringency of environmental regulations impact international trade patterns. It explores the hypothesis that environmental regulation does not have a significant impact on trade. An econometric analysis is... more
This paper examines how the stringency of environmental regulations impact international trade patterns. It explores the hypothesis that environmental regulation does not have a significant impact on trade. An econometric analysis is conducted for 24 countries ranging from highly developed to extremely poor to investigate whether environmental regulations have a significant impact on countries exports of pollution intensive goods. This econometric model extends Leamer (1984)'s cross-section Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek (HOV) model by incorporating measures of stringency of environmental regulation. Correlation between capital intensity and exports are mitigated by grouping the sample countries. The results suggest that Metal, Steels, Pulp and Paper, and Chemicals Industries exhibit a negative relationship.
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bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed POLIcy RESEARCH WORKING PAPER 2988 Wilson, Mann, and Otsuki analyze the relationship... more
bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed POLIcy RESEARCH WORKING PAPER 2988 Wilson, Mann, and Otsuki analyze the relationship the effect of ports or regulations. The authors then between trade facilitation, trade flows, and GDP per estimate the benefits of specific trade facilitation efforts capita in the Asia-Pacific region for the goods sector. by quantifying differential improvement by members of They define and measure trade facilitation using four the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in these broad indicators. These are constructed using country- four areas. Based on a scenario in which APEC members specific data for port efficiency, customs environment, below average improve capacity halfway to the average regulatory environment, and electronic-business usage. for all members, the authors find that intra-APEC trade They estimate the relationship between these...
Standards and technical regulations exist to protect consumer safety or to achieve other goals. However, such regulations can raise set-up costs and production costs significantly. We develop econometric models to provide the first... more
Standards and technical regulations exist to protect consumer safety or to achieve other goals. However, such regulations can raise set-up costs and production costs significantly. We develop econometric models to provide the first estimates of the incremental production costs of enterprises in developing nations in conforming to standards imposed by major importing countries. We use firm-level data generated from 16 developing countries through the World Bank Technical Barriers to Trade Survey Database. Our translog cost function estimation suggests that standards increase short-run production costs by requiring additional labor and capital. A one-percent increase in one-time compliance cost in importing countries raises production costs by 0.06 percent, a statistically significant increase. While the impact is small, it does imply that standards and technical regulations may constitute non-tariff trade barriers.
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This paper uses firm-level data to examine the impact of foreign chemical safety regulations such as RoHS and REACH on the production costs and export performance of firms in Malaysia and Vietnam. This paper also investigates the role of... more
This paper uses firm-level data to examine the impact of foreign chemical safety regulations such as RoHS and REACH on the production costs and export performance of firms in Malaysia and Vietnam. This paper also investigates the role of global value chains in enhancing the likelihood that a firm complies with RoHS and REACH. We find that in addition to the initial setup costs for compliance, EU RoHS (REACH) implementation imposes on firms additional variable production costs by requiring additional labor and capital expenditures of around 57% (73%) of variable costs. We also find that compliance with RoHS and REACH significantly increases the probability of export and that compliance with EU RoHS and REACH helps firms enter a greater variety of countries. Furthermore, firms participating in global value chains have higher compliance with RoHS and REACH regulations, regardless of whether the firm is directly exporting, when the firm operates in upstream or downstream industries of t...
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Environmental protection is an issue that all developing countries must cope with when inviting foreign direct investment (FDI). However, the high correlation between FDI and pollution does not necessarily indicate that foreign firms are... more
Environmental protection is an issue that all developing countries must cope with when inviting foreign direct investment (FDI). However, the high correlation between FDI and pollution does not necessarily indicate that foreign firms are to blame. In this study, we apply firm-level panel data from Vietnam and unique information on waste discharge to demonstrate that foreign firms are actually more proactive in acquiring ISO14001 certification. ISO14001 is a voluntary environmental standard, the adoption of which improves a firm's performance in terms of waste control, and increases its welfare and productivity level. This study provides robust evidence that firms' efforts toward corporate social responsibility eventually benefit them as well.
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PurposeThe purpose of this study is to discuss the progress and challenges of South Asia in trade liberalization and facilitation, and to quantitatively demonstrate the potential benefits of trade facilitation in South... more
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to discuss the progress and challenges of South Asia in trade liberalization and facilitation, and to quantitatively demonstrate the potential benefits of trade facilitation in South Asia.Design/methodology/approachThe quantitative study simulates the trade gains to the region based on the gravity model estimation for 101 world countries.FindingsThe gains to the region are estimated to be $31 billion in 2007 and $26 billion in 2010 if South Asia and the “rest of the world” raised levels of trade facilitation halfway to the world average. Of those trade gains, about 80 per cent (in 2007) and 67 per cent (in 2010) of the total gains to South Asia will be generated from South Asia's own efforts.Originality/valueThus this study demonstrates the importance of trade facilitation as an instrument for expansion of trade both within South Asia and with the rest of the world, as well as policy recommendations regarding the priority area for reform.
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Research Interests: Business, Economics, International Trade, Economic Theory, Economic policy, and 15 morePublic Health, Environmental Governance, Developing Country, World, Enforcement, World Trade Organization, Legislation, Iron, Health monitoring, Trade and the environment, Factor endowment, Chemical Industry, OECD countries, Environmental Regulation, and Steel Manufacturing
Page 1. 2841 1 Volume 17 *2003 *Number 3 OXFORD ISs)S\ ()2-<() F IL EC 0PY Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Page 2. THE WORLD BANK... more
Page 1. 2841 1 Volume 17 *2003 *Number 3 OXFORD ISs)S\ ()2-<() F IL EC 0PY Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Page 2. THE WORLD BANK ECONOMIC REVIEW ...
Research Interests: Economics and World Bank
Research Interests: Business, Economics, Development Economics, Health Economics, Science Education, and 12 moreEconomic Theory, Economic policy, Production economics, Developing Country, Firm-Level Data, World Trade Organization, Statistical Significance, Technical Barriers to Trade, Developing nations, Value added, Production Cost, and Econometric Model
Research Interests: Economics, Air Transport, Economic policy, Economic Development, Free Trade, and 15 moreGeneral Equilibrium, Gravity Model, Empirical Research, Elasticities, Foreign Trade, Global trade, Equilibrium, Empirical Studies, Bilateral trade, Absolute Value, Commodity, Environmental, Environments, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, and ad valorem
Standards and technical regulations set in importing countries have become a rising concern to exporters, especially to those in developing countries. This paper examines the importance of various types of standards in developing-country... more
Standards and technical regulations set in importing countries have become a rising concern to exporters, especially to those in developing countries. This paper examines the importance of various types of standards in developing-country firms' export decisions. Drawn from ...
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Research Interests: Business, Economics, Food Safety, Health Economics, International Trade, and 14 moreEconomic Theory, Economic policy, Agriculture, Standardization, Social Science Research Network, Developing Country, Trade Policy, Comparative Analysis, Least Developed Countries, Aflatoxins, Trading System, Technical Barriers to Trade, Contaminants, and Harmonization
By Donna Roberts, Laurian June Unnevehr, Julie Caswell, Ian Sheldon, John Wilson, Tsunehiro Otsuki and David Orden; THE ROLE OF PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES IN THE AGRICULTURAL NEGOTIATIONS. ...
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This chapter examines demand-side effects of EU restriction on hazardous substances (RoHS) and REACH regulations in terms of enhancing export market access by firms exporting from Malaysia and Vietnam. The analysis finds that firms’... more
This chapter examines demand-side effects of EU restriction on hazardous substances (RoHS) and REACH regulations in terms of enhancing export market access by firms exporting from Malaysia and Vietnam. The analysis finds that firms’ compliance with the RoHS and REACH regulations promotes access to the EU export market. However, compliance is also associated with a reduction in the number of markets to which firms export and leads to concentration of exports to the EU market. The analysis also finds that firms facing requests from customers to implement measures relating to chemicals in their products or that obtain ISO 9001 or 14001 certification are more likely to comply with RoHS and REACH regulations. They may receive help to comply with the regulations, or pressure from their customers to achieve compliance.
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This article analyzes the relationship between trade facilitation and trade flows in the Asia-Pacific region. Country-specific data for port efficiency, customs environment, regulatory environment, and e-business usage are used to... more
This article analyzes the relationship between trade facilitation and trade flows in the Asia-Pacific region. Country-specific data for port efficiency, customs environment, regulatory environment, and e-business usage are used to construct indicators for measuring trade facilitation. The relationship between these indicators and trade flows is estimated using a gravity model that includes tariffs and other standard variables. Enhanced port efficiency has a large and positive effect on trade flows. Regulatory barriers deter trade. Improvements in customs and greater e-business use significantly expand trade but to a lesser degree than improvements in ports or regulations. The benefits of specific trade facilitation efforts are estimated by quantifying differential improvements in these four areas among members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). A scenario in which APEC members with below-average indicators improve capacity halfway to the average for all members shows that intra-APEC trade co...
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Research Interests: Business, Air Transport, Foreign Direct Investment, Developing Countries, Economic policy, and 15 moreCapacity Building, Free Trade, General Equilibrium, Elasticity, Crossing, Air, Gravity Model, Export Performance, Developed Countries, Elasticities, Foreign Trade, Global trade, Commodity, Empirical Analysis, and Consignment
Research Interests: Economics, Economic Theory, Economic policy, Economic Development, Trade Facilitation, and 11 moreTrade and Development, Social Science Research Network, Trade Policy, Gravity Model, Facilitation, The World Bank, GDP Per Capita, Washington DC, Electronic Business, Trade flows, and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
Many of the most important food safety issues in international trade today impact on developing countries. These countries, especially those in Sub-Saharan Africa, seek to expand access to international agricultural markets and integrate... more
Many of the most important food safety issues in international trade today impact on developing countries. These countries, especially those in Sub-Saharan Africa, seek to expand access to international agricultural markets and integrate more fully into the global trade system. Questions of how to balance risk, expanding trade in agricultural products, and health concerns are at the forefront of trade debate. This chapter provides a case study of trade between Africa and Europe in agricultural products, from African exporters perspective. It presents results from empirical data and analysis on the trade effect of harmonisation of food safety standards within the European Union which we offer as a contribution to trade policy discourse on SPS standards and the multilateral trading system. Concern about the health risks of food and appropriate sanitary standards has been increasing in industrialised countries over the past decade (Pinstrup-Andersen 2000). Debate over food safety has been especially prominent in Europe (Nielsen and Anderson 2000). The use of import bans and regulatory intervention by the European Commission is increasingly justified, in part, under the ‘precautionary principle’ which seeks to mitigate against risk even under conditions in which science has not established direct cause and effect relationships. The European Commission's approach has been challenged in trade policy talks, therefore, on the basis that import restrictions have been employed without sufficient support from internationally recognised science.
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Research Interests: Business, Development Economics, Econometrics, Political Economy, International Trade, and 15 moreEconomic Growth, Microfinance, Economic Theory, Outsourcing, Middle East, Diversification, Developing Country, Consumers, Protectionism, Conformity Assessment, Empirical Analysis, Market Access, Domestic market, Fixed Costs, and Adverse effect
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Research Interests: Economics, Economic Theory, Information Policy, Economic policy, Capacity Building, and 13 moreUrban Development, Trade, Trade Facilitation, Trade and Development, Social Science Research Network, Trade Policy, Gravity Model, Joint production, Bilateral trade, Washington DC, Service Sector, Gains From Trade, and Trade flows
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Research Interests: Business, Economics, Food Safety, Health Economics, Food Policy, and 15 morePest Management, Economic policy, European Union, Pesticide Residues, Latin America, Developing Country, Trade Policy, Crop management, Environmental protection, Disease Control, Food Sciences, Market Access, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Government Regulation, and Trade flows
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This paper examines the effects of the Brazilian governments' title granting policies on the efficiency of agricultural and timber production in the Brazilian Amazon. A two-stage procedure is used that combines Data Envelopment... more
This paper examines the effects of the Brazilian governments' title granting policies on the efficiency of agricultural and timber production in the Brazilian Amazon. A two-stage procedure is used that combines Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and a Tobit regression. Provision of private land titles before 1995 is found to positively affect the technical efficiency of agricultural and joint agriculture–timber production in 1995. Governmental expenditures, including expenditures to secure property rights, also are found to increase technical efficiency in the agricultural industry. The analysis indicates that revenue efficiency can be improved by producing more roundwood and less agricultural product. Land-granting policies may favorably affect environmental conservation by intensifying land use in agriculture, but they also may harm development by discouraging timber production.