Assessing World Bank Support for Trade, 1987-2004 : An IEG Evaluation

Independent Evaluation Group

Washington, DC:World Bank

关键词: ACCOUNTABILITY;    AGRICULTURAL TRADE;    AGRICULTURE;    APPLICABLE LAW;    AVERAGE TARIFF;   

DOI  :  10.1596/978-0-8213-6591-5
RP-ID  :  35921

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 evaluation of the Bank'sassistance on trade-related issues focuses on the periodbetween fiscal years 1987 and 2004. The majority ofdeveloping countries have significantly improved theirenvironment for trade and economic growth, following overtwo decades of assistance from the Bank in trade reform.Arguably, the developing world is more open today than atany time in recent memory. Developing countries have morethan doubled their exports since the mid-1980s, helping manyof them to grow steadily. Exports and imports have risen asa share of the gross domestic product (GDP) across a widerange of countries, fueled in part by China'sremarkable trade performance, and the growth in servicestrade. Trade policies have also been significantlyliberalized. Average import tariffs have fallen steadilyover the period, although the fall in other forms ofprotection has been more gradual. Between fiscal years 1987and 2004, about 8.1 percent of total Bank commitments wentto 117 countries to help them better integrate into theglobal economy. This financing has been accompanied by alarge volume of analysis in operational economic and sectorwork (ESW), research publications on trade, and workingpapers on trade-related topics. During the first phase(starting in the 1980s), the Bank focused largely on thetraditional trade agenda related to opening up economies.During the second phase, from the mid- to late-1990s, theBank's emphasis on trade declined, although the impactof earlier trade reforms was still playing out. In the thirdphase, initiated with the collapse of the World TradeOrganization (WTO) Seattle trade ministerial meeting in1999, growing pressure to deliver on the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDG), and interest from developmentpartners (notably bilateral donors), led the Bank toreappraise its trade activities. This phase has focused onthe global trading system, and "behind-the-borderbarriers" to trade. The Bank's trade activitiesduring the period were led by a grade policy reform packagesupported by four components: import-related;export-related; exchange rate and foreign exchangemanagement; and, industrial and other supporting policies.This assessment reviews project-related outcomes andoutputs, to focus on the progress toward a moredevelopment-friendly trading. Recommendations includeaddressing poverty-distributional outcomes and externalshocks in a balanced approach; revisiting the balancebetween global and country agendas, and strengtheningoperational links on trade issues; and, strengtheningknowledge management efforts.