The training course on “Trade Facilitation and Paperless Trade” is one of the events organized in the partnership of ESCAP and  the International Institute for Trade and Development (ITD), an ARTNeT institutional member. The training programme is aimed at increasing human and institutional capacity in developing and least developed countries in the region to effectively participate in trade and deepen regional cooperation and integration. This year’s programme is focused on trade and environment, trade facilitation and e-trade. The participants from CLMV countries of ASEAN and several other countries with special needs, in addition to Thailand, attend these workshops.

The upcoming workshop on “Trade facilitation and Paperless Trade” will provide an update on the state of implementation of key trade facilitation and paperless trade measures in the region. Important agreements and other instruments will be introduced, in particular the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and the new Framework Agreement on the Facilitation of Cross-Border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific. Participants will learn how to conduct a Business Process Analysis (BPA) project to simplify trade procedures. Good practices in implementing electronic single window and other paperless trade systems for trade facilitation will also be reviewed. The programme aims at building the capacity of junior government officials and relevant institutions towards simplification and automation of trade-related procedures.

This workshop will also be an opportunity to feature and use in capacity building a new publication by ESCAP and OECD entitled "Handbook on Indicators for Trade Facilitation".

This Handbook aims at providing a comprehensive source of information on publicly available cross-country databases and indicators relevant to trade facilitation in a format easy to use for both trainers and individual readers alike.

For more information on the workshop please visit here. For the full handbook please visit here.

The ARTNeT Dialogue on “Analyzing non-tariff measures: collating evidence and setting research agenda” was organized on 26-27 April 2017 to present research findings of the studies undertaken by ARTNeT researchers under the project “Supporting Equitable Economic Development in ASEAN: Impact of Regional Integration (AEC) on Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam (CLMV countries)" supported by ARTNeT core partner Agence Française de Développement (AFD). The Dialogue was also an ideal opportunity to engage experts from and outside the region to discuss existing challenges in the measuring and monitoring the non-tariff measures (NTMs), identifying non-tariff barriers (NTBs) and their impacts, as well as to frame a research agenda on NTMs which will better inform policymakers on presence and impacts of NTMs. Possible extension and focus of capacity building for both governance and research in this area were discussed. The summaries of discussions are available from the ARTNeT Secretariat and for the findings of the ARTNeT multi-stakeholder survey on Setting the future research agenda on NTMs - see the next Newsletter item.

The Dialogue attracted more than 40 participants - researchers and analysts in think-tanks, research institutes and government departments dealing with international trade and development issues, including from our institutional members CDRI, SSFET, CGEP, IIM Bangalore, National University of Laos, IKMAS, IPS, TDRI, FTU and our partners WTO, FAO, WB and ADBI. (Full list of ARTNeT partners & members)

For the event photo please visit here. For the event presentations and more information please visit here. 

The ARTNeT Survey on ‘Setting the future research agenda on NTMs’, was open for 12 days during April 2017. The survey aimed to collect opinion among ARTNeT researchers on the current gaps in NTM research and identify avenues of future research on NTMs. The survey was circulated among ARTNeT members.

The results of the survey fed into the ARTNeT dialogue on “Analyzing non-tariff measures: Collating evidence and setting research agenda”, that took place on 25-27 April 2017 (see the story above for more information on the ARTNeT dialogue)

The survey drew 102 responses. The 95% of the respondents stated to have a post-graduate or Ph.D. level education and 93% of the respondents rated moderate to high familiar with the current UNCTAD classification of NTMs. Less than a half (43%) of the respondents agreed that the current research on NTMs is adequately policy relevant. The specific suggestions for the future NTM research agenda included the topics such as good governance and NTMs; NTMs impact on services trade, technology transfer, value chains, welfare, enrienment, poverty and inequality; and effectiveness of FTAs to handle NTMs, etc. You can find the further results of the survey in the presentation available here.

ESCAP, in collaboration, with the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Mongolia organized the capacity building workshop on preferential trade agreements, from 19-21 April 2017, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, with the aim of increasing the awareness and understanding of government officials and trade negotiators of the potential social and economic impacts of preferential trade agreements.

The upcoming workshop in Myanmar which will be held from 7-9 June 2017 in Nay Pyi Taw is being organized in collaboration with the Department of Trade, Ministry of Commerce. The project draws upon experts and researchers in ARTNeT, and past events have been organized in collaboration with ARTNeT members. The project provides a new avenue for collaboration between ARTNeT members on issues inclusivity, sustainability and equitability in trade, which is in line with the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

For Mongolia workshop information and the presentations please visit here. For Myanmar workshop information please visit here. 

ARTNeT has been created as an open regional network comprising leading trade and development research institutions and think tanks across the Asia-Pacific region. We aim to increase the quality and the amount of relevant trade research in the region by more effectively harnessing the research capacity already available and developing additional capabilities. The solid research findings are used as evidence for better informed policymaking in the developing countries in need to more effectively use trade as a means of implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.

To assist in dissemination of its work, ARTNeT currently relies on using three social media outlets: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as the official website and monthly newsletter. In order to improve its service to the institutional members and partners, ARTNeT Secretariat is conducting this short survey to collect users’ opinions and feedback.

Your opinion is valuable to us – we want to make sure that this network continues meeting your needs. You are encouraged to provide further comments and ideas in the text fields.

The results of the survey will be reflected in our future media operational strategies soon. Please answer the survey here. The survey will be open for 30 days.

This conferences is hosted by the University of Bari. The conference is co-organized with the Centre for Experimental Research on Fairness, Inequality, and Rationality (FAIR) at NHH Norwegian School of Economics (Bergen, Norway) and Master E.G.E.I.

Both theoretical and empirical papers are welcome. Submissions of papers or extended abstracts are expected by 5 June 2017.

For more information please visit here. 

Our core partner WTO issued a call for young economists to submit papers for the 2017 WTO Essay Award. The award aims to promote high-quality research on trade policy and international trade co-operation and to reinforce the relationship between the WTO and the academic community. Essays must be submitted by 2 June 2017. 

For the award detail please visit here. 

“SANEM-North America Discussion Forum 2017″ will be jointly organized by SANEM and associate partner the World Bank group on June 12, 2017 at the World Bank premises in Washington, D.C., USA. This unique event is going to work as a communication hub and a platform for academicians, researchers, policy advocates and young aspiring economists to initiate a strong network among them. Through this event, SANEM is going to officially set its footprint on the North American region for the very first time. The core objective of this event is also to promote quality economic research among academicians, policy advocates, researchers, students and young aspiring economists living in the North American region as well as in other parts of the globe. SANEM is an institutional member of ARTNeT since 2008.

For more information, programme and application details please visit here. 

A Young Professionals Program has been established this year to recruit and develop a cadre of outstanding Young Professionals (“YPs”) in the early stages of their careers to contribute to the realization of the Bank’s mission. The AIIB’s mission is to i) foster sustainable economic growth, create wealth and improve infrastructure connectivity in Asia by investing in infrastructure and other productive areas; and ii) promote regional cooperation and partnership. The selected YPs’ skill sets, academic experiences, motivation and passion will complement the expertise and experience of the Bank’s seasoned mid-career and senior staff.

For the application details please visit here.

The United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS - ARTNeT associate partner) offers students with a demonstrated interest and background in regional integration studies the opportunity to take part in the activities of the Institute. Traineeships and Internships are respectively intended for undergraduate and graduate students.

For more information please visit here.

As part of its work programme on capacity-building among developing countries on global and regional economic issues, our member RIS has been conducting its flaghship Capacity- Building Programme on International Economic Issues and Development Policy (IEIDP) under the ITEC/SCAAP programme of the Ministry of External Affairs. The programme is aimed to inculcate in participants enhanced understanding on challenges and opportunities associated with the processes of globalization and development. It is also designed to expose the participants to the growing complexities of global economic issues and negotiations and to build their analytical skills to deal with them. In this year’s programme, conducted from 13 February-10 March 2017, 33 participants from 25 countries took part.

Based on individual areas of expertise and inclination, the participants formed five thematic groups: 1) Regional Economic Integration, 2) Development Partnership, 3) Financing for Development, 4) Pathways of Economic Growth in Developing Countries and 5) National and Regional Priorities of Development & the SDGs and presented this report accordingly. You can access to the full report here.  

By and large, developed countries with well-developed market systems use floating exchange rate regimes while developing and transition economies, including most Pacific island developing
economies such as Fiji, favour fixed exchange rate regimes. Maintaining fixed exchange rate regimes often requires subjected countries to devalue their currencies once in a while. Studies
overtime have attempted to analyse impact of devaluation on aggregate trade balance but have often ignored the issue of aggregation bias in those analysis. This paper from our member USP attempts to persuade this issue and analyse the impact of devaluation for a small island Fijian economy with her ten trading partner countries. The econometric analysis shows currency devaluation has long–run significant bilateral trade improvement with New Zealand and the USA while there is significant worsening of the bilateral trade performance with Australia, the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Hong Kong and China over the 1975-2012 periods. However, the evidence of the J-curve phenomenon is only obtained for trade with New Zealand, Japan, the UK and the USA. This result reinforces that not all the trade partners are affected in the same manner as a result of devaluation in an economy after removing the aggregation biasness.

For the full paper please visit here. 

This policy brief "Designing a Business Model for Sustainable Management of End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) in India" from our member TERI proposes a framework/business model for sustainable management of end-of-life vehicles in India. It not only suggest ways for collection and management of the ELVs, but also outline ways to obtain maximum economic benefits from their recovery, creating social values and preventing environmental degradation along with fulfilling the relevant legislations.

For the full brief please visit here. 

The theme of the 13th Edition of the Talking Economics Digest focuses on ‘Financing for Development’ and calls for efficient fiscal policy reforms to achieve sustainable growth and to macroeconomic stability. Sri Lanka is currently in a weak fiscal position and its performance compared to other developing countries is poor. Thus, there is an urgent need for fiscal policy reforms that could broaden Sri Lanka’s tax base while minimizing inconsistencies and improve revenue and public finances.

Like in previous issues, the Talking Economics Digest is a compilation of articles written by our member IPS research staff over the latter half of 2016, covering a wide range critical national, regional, and international economic policy issues. The Digest gives a snapshot view of IPS events, its latest publications, and snippets of information about significant developments in the country during this period.

For the full Digest please visit here. 

South Asia Economic Journal, published in association with our members IPS and RIS, as a refereed journal carries articles by scholars, economic commentators, policy-makers and officials, from both the private and public sectors. It aims to create a vibrant research space to explore the multidimensional economic issues of concern to scholars working on South Asia. The latest issue includes research articles "Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions on Firms’ Export Competitiveness: Experience of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry", "Macroeconomic Effects of Monetary Policy Shocks", "Openness and Innovation: Firm-level Evidence from India" and more, as well as research notes and book reviews.

For the latest issue please visit here. For the call for paper please visit here. 

Launched in July 2016, during the 14th quadrennial Conference of UNCTAD, an ARTNeT core partner, eTrade for All is a global initiative that helps developing countries engage in and benefit from e-commerce.

The eTrade for All online platform - a new information hub helps developing countries navigate the wealth of technical and financial services they can use to drive development through e-commerce. Through the platform, countries can connect with potential partners, learn about trends and best practices, access up-to-date e-commerce data, and be informed of upcoming e-commerce events.

You can explore the eTrade for All online platform here. 

The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) is an international non-profit research organization that has worked with environment and development issues from local to global policy levels for a quarter of a century. SEI works to shift policy and practice towards sustainability. ARTNeT would like to share two SEI products related to trade and SDGs: 

The SEI Initiative on Producer to Consumer Sustainability (P2CS) aims to bring about a step change in the study of contemporary global trade and production to consumption systems, and to help identify new opportunities to promote sustainability. The SEI team implementing P2CS includes cutting-edge global trade analysis tools developed; expertise in the use and development of supply chain analysis and business-support tools; expertise, field experience, and established networks associated with major commodity supply chains and the impacts of agricultural expansion on patterns of land and resource use, including by local communities, in the developing world; and established engagement with public-sector authorities and leading private-sector and civil society stakeholders involved in international trade and sustainability. 

Read more on this Initiative here. 

Trase - Transparency for Sustainable Economies. The Trase transparency platform enables governments, companies, investors and others to better understand and address the environmental and social impacts linked to their supply chains. Trase's pioneering approach draws on vast sets of production, trade and customs data, for the first time laying bare the flows of globally traded commodities – such as palm oil, soya, beef and timber.

Read more on Trase. 

Griffith University (GBS Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics) (Links)

Decomposing the marginal excess burden of the GST

Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI)

Bangladesh exports face emerging challenges in EU

Centre for WTO Studies (CWS)

Global Value Chains: Asymmetries, Realities and Risks

Trade rules on source code - deepening the digital inequities by locking up the software fortress

Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)

Can Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) be Part Solution to the Indian Debt Problem?

Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS)

Competition for the Market: A Policy Framework for Improving Bus Operation along EDSA

Reducing Unnecessary Regulatory Burden: The Philippine Tuna Industry

Understanding the New Philippine Competition Act

The Promises and Pains in Procurement Reforms in the Philippines

The Renewable Energy Policy Debate in the Philippines

Review of Intra-ASEAN Nontariff Measures on Trade in Goods

Rebooting Philippine Telecommunications Through Structural Reform

Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)

Sustainable Economic Cooperation between Korea and the Middle East in Times of Lower Oil Prices

Implications of Global Recession and Structural Changes for the Korean Economy

The Recent Drop and Recovery of Korean Exports: Structural and Cyclical Aspects

National University of Singapore, Institute of South Asian Studies (NUS-iSAS)

Merger of Public Sector Banks in India: The Imperative to Make Haste Slowly

Enhancing India-Malaysia Economic Ties

Economic Planning and Development in South Asia: ‘Walking On Two Legs’

The Goods and Services Tax: A New Chapter in Indian Public Finance

Pakistan in the Economic Cooperation Organization

Yusof Ishak Institute (ISEAS)

ASEANFocus

The Investment Chapter and ISDS in the TPP: Lessons from Southeast Asia

Royal Warrants of Appointment Grant Prestige and Goodwill in Thai Business Culture

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Basic Statistics 2017

Does Fiscal Decentralization Help Indonesia Avoid the Middle-Income Trap?

South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Vision: Powering Asia in the 21st Century

Asia-Pacific Regional Integration Index: Construction, Interpretation, and Comparison

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Improving the allocation and efficiency of public spending in Indonesia

Decentralisation to promote Regional Development in Indonesia

How government procurement measures can affect trade

Services trade costs: Tariff equivalents of services trade restrictions using gravity estimation

International trade consequences of climate change

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

Cambodia Rapid eTrade Readiness Assessment

Bhutan Rapid eTrade Readiness Assessment

Trade-related Fisheries Targets: Sustainable Devlopment Goal 14

20 Years of BioTrade: Connecting People, the Planet and Markets

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The ARTNeT Secretariat welcomes submissions of policy briefs, working papers, book reports, research reports, and book reviews by ARTNeT members, partners and collaborators. For any submission to be considered, the editorial 'Guidelines for Submissions to the ARTNeT Working Papers Series' must be adhered to.

If you are an ARTNeT member, partner or collaborator and would like to publicise your publications, research or events in the next newsletter, please e-mail us at artnetontrade@un.org.