Trade Facilitation and Economic Development : New Approach to Quantifying the Impact

Wilson, John S. ; Mann, Catherine L. ; Otsuki, Tsunehiro

Washington, DC:World Bank

关键词: ABSOLUTE VALUE;    AD VALOREM;    AIR TRANSPORT;    APPLIED TARIFF;    AVERAGE TRADE;   

DOI  :  10.1093/wber/lhg027
RP-ID  :  77417

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This article analyzes the relationshipbetween trade facilitation and trade flows in the AsiaPacific region. Country specific data for port efficiency,customs environment, regulatory environment, and e-businessusage are used to construct indicators for measuring tradefacilitation. The relationship between these indicators andtrade flows is estimated using a gravity model that includestariffs and other standard variables. Enhanced portefficiency has a large and positive effect on trade flows.Regulatory barriers deter trade. Improvements in customs andgreater e-business use significantly expand trade but to alesser degree than improvements in ports or regulations. Thebenefits of specific trade facilitation efforts areestimated by quantifying differential improvements in thesefour areas among members of the Asia Pacific EconomicCooperation (APEC). A scenario in which APEC members withbelow-average indicators improve capacity halfway to theaverage forall members shows that intra-APEC trade couldincrease by Dollar 254 billion, or 21 percent of intra-APECtrade flows.