The objective of this handbook is to be used as a reference in preparation of analysis of already available merchandise trade statistical information for assessment of various issues, discussion on negotiating positions and ultimately for conducting consultations. Indicators are grouped in the following categories: trade and economy, trade performance, direction of trade, sectoral structure of trade and protection.
The raise of global value chains, closely knitting together firms from many different countries, changed the nature of trade and the relevance of established models and corresponding statistical indicators. What was initially an innovation in business management became so successful that it changed not only trade economics but initiated a process that is having profound repercussions on our understanding of development and social policies. This mutation - some speak of a paradigm shift - blurs country borders, but also the traditional distinction between industrialised and developing economies. The issue prompted the G20 to identify in its 2012 Puerto-Vallarta meeting global value chains as one of the main dimension of modern global governance. The article is part of a dedicated volume (13) by World Economics and focuses on the trade and governance aspects, first revising the forces that led to the flattening of the world, then analysing the implications for trade statistics and policymaking.
America's international economic decisions rest to a large degree on the information available to policymakers. Yet the quality of international trade and financial data is in serious doubt. This book reveals how our systems for collecting and analyzing trade data have fallen behind the times-and presents recommendations for new approaches to accuracy and usefulness of these economic data. The volume traces the burgeoning use of international economic data by public and private analysts at a time when the United States is becoming increasingly integrated into the world economy. It also points out problems of capturing new transactions, comparing data from different sources, limited access to the data, and more. This is the first volume to review all three types of U.S. international data-merchandise trade, international services transactions, and capital flows. Highlights include: Specific steps for U.S. agencies to take. Special analyses on improving the accuracy of merchandise trade data, filling data gaps on the fast-growing international services transactions, and understanding structural changes in world capital markets. Comments, complaints, and suggestions from an original survey of more than 100 key users of trade data. This practical volume will be invaluable to policymakers, government officials, business executives, economists, statisticians, and researchers.
While international trade in goods and services has long been expanding, the speed and scope of recent changes have given rise to the term ¿globalization.¿ Among the most pressing policy questions in the United States and other advanced economies are those concerning the impact of globalization: Has globalization fostered productivity growth and well-being in advanced economies? Or have the forces of globalization weakened key national industries, resulted in widespread worker dislocation and wage stagnation, and worsened inequality? Understanding the impacts of globalization is critical to fashioning appropriate policies in a rapidly changing world. But understanding its impacts requires good data, and national statistical systems were not designed to measure many of the transactions occurring in today¿s global economy. The chapters in this volume and its companion, Measuring Globalization: Biases to Price, Output, and Productivity Statistics from Trade, identify biases and gaps in national statistics, examine the magnitude of the problems they pose, and propose solutions to address significant biases and fill key data gaps. The chapters originally were presented as papers at a research conference in 2013 funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and their authors include researchers from academic institutions and statistics agencies in the United States and other countries.
A Foreign Affairs Best Book of the Year: “Tells the history of American trade policy . . . [A] grand narrative [that] also debunks trade-policy myths.” —Economist Should the United States be open to commerce with other countries, or should it protect domestic industries from foreign competition? This question has been the source of bitter political conflict throughout American history. Such conflict was inevitable, James Madison argued in the Federalist Papers, because trade policy involves clashing economic interests. The struggle between the winners and losers from trade has always been fierce because dollars and jobs are at stake: depending on what policy is chosen, some industries, farmers, and workers will prosper, while others will suffer. Douglas A. Irwin’s Clashing over Commerce is the most authoritative and comprehensive history of US trade policy to date, offering a clear picture of the various economic and political forces that have shaped it. From the start, trade policy divided the nation—first when Thomas Jefferson declared an embargo on all foreign trade and then when South Carolina threatened to secede from the Union over excessive taxes on imports. The Civil War saw a shift toward protectionism, which then came under constant political attack. Then, controversy over the Smoot-Hawley tariff during the Great Depression led to a policy shift toward freer trade, involving trade agreements that eventually produced the World Trade Organization. Irwin makes sense of this turbulent history by showing how different economic interests tend to be grouped geographically, meaning that every proposed policy change found ready champions and opponents in Congress. Deeply researched and rich with insight and detail, Clashing over Commerce provides valuable and enduring insights into US trade policy past and present. “Combines scholarly analysis with a historian’s eye for trends and colorful details . . . readable and illuminating, for the trade expert and for all Americans wanting a deeper understanding of America’s evolving role in the global economy.” —National Review “Magisterial.” —Foreign Affairs
The World Trade Organization (WTO) presents the text of the report entitled "International Trade Statistics 2001." The report provides statistics on trade in merchandise and commercial services for an assessment of world trade flows by country, region, and main product groups or service categories. Tables and charts showing trade developments are included. The text is available in PDF format.
From American master Ward Just, returning to his trademark territory of "Forgetfulness "and "The Weather in Berlin," an evocative portrait of diplomacy and desire set against the backdrop of America's first lost war
Big data solutions have the potential to accelerate the work of our teams by deriving timely, accurate, and actionable insights from alternative data sources in order to close data gaps and inform policymaking. For example, pilot projects underway in the Trade and Competitiveness practice are exploring the use of data science techniques to harness publicly available government and commercial data to aid competition authorities in detecting cartels and other anti-competitive practices. We are also mining Internet data to measure innovative economic activity in cities, so agencies can make better informed policy decisions and, we are collecting regulatory data to classify and assess the impacts of non-tariff measures on economies and their competitiveness. This paper, prepared in collaboration with Deloitte and with other global practices within the Bank Group, highlights data-driven pilot projects underway in the Trade & Competitiveness Global Practice and shares compelling cases of how big data is changing the way we look at the challenges countries are facing and how we can best support them.
