The Cost of Compliance with Product Standards for Firms in Developing Countries
The Cost of Compliance with Product Standards for Firms in Developing Countries

Author: Keith Eugene Maskus

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 35

ISBN-13:

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Abstract: Standards and technical regulations exist to protect consumer safety or to achieve other goals, such as ensuring the interoperability of telecommunications systems, for example. Standards and technical regulations can, however, raise substantially both start-up and production costs for firms. Maskus, Otsuki, and Wilson develop econometric models to provide the first estimates of the incremental production costs for firms in developing nations in conforming to standards imposed by major importing countries. They use firm-level data generated from 16 developing countries in the World Bank Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Survey Database. Their findings indicate that standards do increase short-run production costs by requiring additional inputs of labor and capital. A 1 percent increase in investment to meet compliance costs in importing countries raises variable production costs by between 0.06 and 0.13 percent, a statistically significant increase. The authors also find that the fixed costs of compliance are nontrivial-approximately.

The Cost of Compliance with Product Standards for Firms in Developing Countries
The Cost of Compliance with Product Standards for Firms in Developing Countries

Author: Keith E. Maskus

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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Standards and technical regulations exist to protect consumer safety or to achieve other goals, such as ensuring the interoperability of telecommunications systems, for example. Standards and technical regulations can, however, raise substantially both start-up and production costs for firms. Maskus, Otsuki, and Wilson develop econometric models to provide the first estimates of the incremental production costs for firms in developing nations in conforming to standards imposed by major importing countries. They use firm-level data generated from 16 developing countries in the World Bank Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Survey Database. Their findings indicate that standards do increase short-run production costs by requiring additional inputs of labor and capital. A 1 percent increase in investment to meet compliance costs in importing countries raises variable production costs by between 0.06 and 0.13 percent, a statistically significant increase. The authors also find that the fixed costs of compliance are nontrivial-approximately $425,000 per firm, or about 4.7 percent of value added on average. The results may be interpreted as one indication of the extent to which standards and technical regulations might constitute barriers to trade. While the relative impact on costs of compliance is relatively small, these costs can be decisive factors driving export success for companies. In this context, there is scope for considering that the costs associated with more limited exports to countries with import regulations may not conform to World Trade Organization rules encouraging harmonization of regulations to international standards, for example. Policy solutions then might be sought by identifying the extent to which subsidies or public support programs are needed to offset the cost disadvantage that arises from nonharmonized technical regulations.

Quality Systems and Standards for a Competitive Edge
Quality Systems and Standards for a Competitive Edge

Author:

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 0821368958

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This book responds to the challenge of providing a comprehensive account of quality systems for private sector development: what works and what doesnt on the ground, and why. This volume provides a thorough analysis of the diversity of institutions, linkages, and arrangements involved in quality systems, identifying success factors in countries quality strategies. It explains why quality and standards matter for export growth, for productivity, for industrial upgrading, and for diffusion of innovation, all central ingredients in improving economic growth and generating real gains in poverty reduction. It provides a detailed blue print for implementing effective National Quality Systems. Quality and Standards Matter is a valuable tool for policymakers confronted with the challenges of building trade competitiveness in the new global economy.

International Standardization and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade
International Standardization and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade

Author: Andrea Barrios Villarreal

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2018-10-04

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 1108584470

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International Standardization and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade examines the international standardization system generally, with a specific focus on some of the bodies within this system, along with their rules and procedures. It also examines - and questions - the lack of definition regarding several features related to the system, notably an international standardizing body (ISB) and international standards in the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). Andrea Barrios Villarreal, who has been involved in standardization activities for more than seven years, provides a unique and in-depth analysis that will be useful to scholars, students and practitioners. This illuminating work is a welcome addition to the international economic law literature and should be read by anyone with an interest in the interaction between trade law and international standardization.

Doing Business 2020
Doing Business 2020

Author: World Bank

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2019-11-21

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 1464814414

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Seventeen in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2020 measures aspects of regulation affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity.

The Cambridge Handbook of Compliance
The Cambridge Handbook of Compliance

Author: Benjamin van Rooij

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-05-20

Total Pages: 1559

ISBN-13: 1108754139

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Compliance has become key to our contemporary markets, societies, and modes of governance across a variety of public and private domains. While this has stimulated a rich body of empirical and practical expertise on compliance, thus far, there has been no comprehensive understanding of what compliance is or how it influences various fields and sectors. The academic knowledge of compliance has remained siloed along different disciplinary domains, regulatory and legal spheres, and mechanisms and interventions. This handbook bridges these divides to provide the first one-stop overview of what compliance is, how we can best study it, and the core mechanisms that shape it. Written by leading experts, chapters offer perspectives from across law, regulatory studies, management science, criminology, economics, sociology, and psychology. This volume is the definitive and comprehensive account of compliance.

The Regulation of Product Standards in World Trade Law
The Regulation of Product Standards in World Trade Law

Author: Ming Du

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2020-11-12

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1509931147

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This monograph has two central purposes. The first is to provide a critical analysis of how governmental, private and hybrid product standards are regulated in the GATT/WTO legal framework. The second purpose is to explore – both positively and normatively – the impact that WTO disciplines may have on the composition, function and decision-making process of various standard-setting bodies through the lens of a series of selected case studies, including: the EU eco-labelling scheme; ISO standards; and private standards such as the FSC. The book analyses what role, if any, the WTO may play in making product standards applied in international trade embody not only technological superiority but also substantive and procedural fairness such as deliberation, representativeness, openness, transparency, due process and accountability. Whilst it has been long recognised that voluntary product standards drawn up by both governmental and non-governmental bodies can in practice create trade barriers as serious as mandatory governmental regulations, a rigorous and systematic inquiry into the boundary, relevance and impact of WTO disciplines on product standards is still lacking. Providing a lucid interpretation of the relevant WTO rules and cases on product standards, this book fills this significant gap in WTO law literature. Definitive and comprehensive, this is an essential reference work for scholars and practitioners alike.

product standards,harmonization,and trade: evidence from the extensive margin
product standards,harmonization,and trade: evidence from the extensive margin

Author: Ben Shepherd

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 34

ISBN-13:

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Abstract: The author uses a new database of EU product standards in the textiles, clothing, and footwear sectors to present the first empirical evidence that international standards harmonization is associated with increased partner country export variety. A 10 percentage point increase in the proportion of internationally harmonized standards is associated with a 0.2 percent increase in partner country export variety, whereas a 10 percent increase in the total number of standards is associated with a nearly 6 percent decrease in product variety. Although small, the harmonization elasticity is statistically significant, and proves highly robust to sample changes and instrumental variables estimation using instruments motivated by political economy considerations. Moreover, it is found to be around 50 percent higher for low income countries, which suggests that they may be particularly constrained in adapting products to meet multiple standards. Numerical simulations show that these findings are consistent with a heterogeneous firms model of trade in which harmonization is beneficial at the extensive margin provided that any increases in compliance costs are not too large.

Preferential Trade Agreement Policies for Development
Preferential Trade Agreement Policies for Development

Author: Jean-Pierre Chauffour

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2011-06-22

Total Pages: 537

ISBN-13: 0821386433

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The Handbook offers an introduction to the key elements of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs), addressing the practical economic and legal aspects of the regulatory policies in PTAs.

Handbook Of International Food And Agricultural Policies (In 3 Volumes)
Handbook Of International Food And Agricultural Policies (In 3 Volumes)

Author:

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2017-11-28

Total Pages: 1243

ISBN-13: 9813226307

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Handbook of International Food and Agricultural Policies is a three-volume set that aims to provide an accessible reference for those interested in the aims and implementation of food and farm policies throughout the world. The treatment is authoritative, comprehensive and forward looking. The three volumes combine scholarship and pragmatism, relating academic writing to real-world issues faced by policy-makers. A companion volume looking at the future resource and climate challenges for global agriculture will be published in the future.Volume I covers Farm and Rural Development policies of developed and developing countries. The volume contains 20 country chapters together with a concluding comprehensive synthesis of lessons to be drawn from the experiences of the individual countries.Volume II examines the experience of countries with food policies, including those dealing with food safety and quality and the responsibility for food security in developing countries. The chapters address issues such as obesity, nutritional supplements, organic foods, food assistance programs, biotech food acceptance, and the place of private standards.Volume III describes and explains the international trade dimension of farm and food policies — both at the bilateral and regional level — and also the multilateral rules that influence and constrain individual governments. The volume also looks at the steps that countries are together taking to meet the needs of developing and low-income countries.The volumes are of value to students and researchers interested in economic development, agricultural markets and food systems. Policy-makers and professionals involved in monitoring and regulating agricultural and food markets would also find the volumes useful in their practical work. This three-volume set is also a suitable source for the general public interested in how their food system is influenced by government policies.