• TRADE AND INVESTMENT PUBLICATIONS
• SELECTED WORLDWIDE WEBSITES

Africa’s Silk Road. China and India’s New Economic Frontier. 2007. Available online (PDF-Format, 420 pages, 5.17 MB) World Bank.
This publication provides systematic empirical evidence on how the two emerging economic giants of Asia – China and India – now stand at the crossroads of the explosion of African-Asian trade and investment. The author has surveyed 450 firms, including Chinese and Indian companies, operating in four African countries, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania, and developed business case studies in the field of additional 16 Chinese and Indian firms in Africa. Africa's Silk Road offers original firm-level data on the African continent of Chinese and Indian firms operating there. In analyzing Africa’s intensifying relationships with China and India, Africa’s Silk Road examines the trends to date and considers the implications of these developments for the economic future of the African continent. The diagnosis cautions that the opportunities engendered by China and India’s trade and investment with Africa will not necessarily be converted into growth and poverty reduction in the region. A critical finding of the study is that it is not just the quantity of these trade and investment flows that matters—it is also the quality of the overall commercial relationships underlying as well as shaping these flows.
Accessed on 9 April
< http://siteresources.worldbank.org/AFRICAEXT/Resources/Africa_Silk_Road.pdf >

Asian Development Outlook 2007. March 2007. Available online (PDF-Format, 388 pages, 12.6 MB). Asian Development Bank.
The 19th edition of Asian Development Outlook examines trends and prospects in Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific, in the context of global economic movements. It throws a spotlight on a variety of structural issues in developing Asia, discussing prospects over the next few decades which will depend on how the region responds and adapts to a constantly changing environment. The chapter on growth amid change in developing Asia shows that those countries who have sustained fast growth in developing Asia have both successfully industrialized and expanded services. In most Asian countries, fostering both industry and services is the only viable development model. The following elements are crucial for this: investment that expands opportunities for productivity gains and provides infrastructure services that are vital for economies of scale and other benefits; institutions that lower risks and uncertainty for businesses; markets that support labor mobility; and institutions that provide social protection.
Accessed on 9 April < http://www.adb.org/Documents/Books/ADO/2007/ado2007.pdf >

Asian Foreign Direct Investment in Africa. Towards a New Era of Cooperation among Developing Countries. March 2007. Available online (PDF-Format, 214 pages, 1.61 KB). United Nations and United Nations Development Programme.
This report looks at both the opportunities and possible obstacles for increasing Asian investment in Africa. Asian FDI is assuming greater importance, accounting for 10 per cent of the stock of FDI in the world. Some Asian firms have grown to rank among the top transnational corporations (TNCs) in the world. This trend is likely to be reinforced in the future. The rapid economic growth and industrial upgrading currently taking place in Asia provide ample opportunities for Africa to attract Asian FDI into both natural resources and manufacturing. Indeed, such FDI in Africa is becoming an important and promising facet of South-South economic cooperation. Against this background, this book examines the opportunities and constraints for Asian investment in African countries. It begins with an overview of Asian FDI in Africa and a review of major Asian economies as FDI recipients as well as sources of FDI in Africa. This is followed by studies of five African countries that help to identify common features as well as conditions specific to each as recipients of FDI in general and Asian FDI in particular.
Accessed on 9 April < http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/iteiia20071_en.pdf >

Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2007. Surging Ahead in Uncertain Times. April 2007. Available online (PDF-Format, 196 pages, 1.65 MB). United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).
Asian and Pacific nations are rapidly emerging as engines of global growth. In 2006, the 7.9 per cent increase in the size of the region’s developing economies represented a third of worldwide growth. Significantly, these gains were broadly distributed among all subregions. The area’s developed economies expanded by a healthy 2.2 per cent, while even countries affected by the 1997 Asian financial crisis reported robust 5 per cent growth and a reassuring macroeconomic outlook, with inflation under control, improved external accounts and stronger financial systems. These encouraging trends are set out in the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2007. However, the Survey cautions against complacency. Deeper integration into the global economy offers exciting opportunities for Asian and Pacific nations, but it also poses its own unique challenges. This year’s Survey identifies some of these concerns, and analyses the near- and medium-term policy implications. The Survey also addresses the issue of gender discrimination. Restrictions on women’s choices and opportunities
carry significant socio-economic costs at all levels of society. The Survey proposes action in four basic sectors: economic participation; education; health; and empowerment. In each area, examples of best practices illustrate the proven efficacy of the recommendations.
Accessed on 23 April
< http://www.unescap.org/survey2007/download/01_Survey_2007.pdf >

Enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs: Subnational innovation systems and technological capacity-building policies. February 2007. Available online (PDF-Format, 406 pages, 13 MB). UNESCAP.
This publication is a comprehensive collection of material originating from a UNESCAP project that aimed to foster innovation performance of relevant actors and economic growth at the sub-national level; to strengthen global competitiveness and technological capability of local SMEs; and to mitigate ultimately regional disparities through diffusion of Subnational Innovation Systems (SIS) approach. Part one of the publication contains the report of the Regional Consultative Meeting on Subnational Innovation Systems and Technology Capacity-Building Policies to Enhance Competitiveness of SMEs which was held in January 2006 in the Republic of Korea. Part two contains two background papers, namely a study on subnational innovation system policy to enhance local SMEs competitiveness and a study on strategy for enhancing competitiveness of SMEs based on technology capacity-building. Part four provides experiences, lessons and best practices on SIS, part four country papers of Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Republic of Korea, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam. The publication ends with a special presentation of Korean experiences on the promotion of SIS and SME technological capability.
Accessed on 25 April < http://www.unescap.org/tid/publication/indpub2435.pdf >

Financial Sector Reform: Longerrun Policy Responses to the Asian Crisis. February 2007. Available online (PDF-Format, 22 pages, 115 KB). Working Paper Series Paper No.15, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research (EABER).
This paper starts out by briefly reviewing a part of the recent literature on the linkages between finance and growth to identify possible lessons for financial reform policies. This is followed by a brief overview of the emerging international conventional wisdom on essential requirements for financial sector stability, reflected in codes and standards of best practice. The paper identifies a number of specific policy initiatives across a range of countries which have focused on developing parts of the financial sector which are seen as important for future growth. It then raises the question of how progress in financial reform agenda might be measured, identifying the need for further research in this area.
Accessed on 9 April
< http://www.eaber.org/intranet/documents/86/843/WPS_BKK_WPD_15.pdf >

Market Access in FTAs: Assessment Based on Rules of Origin and Agricultural Trade Liberalization. November 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 52 pages, 451 KB). Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
This paper tries to assess the quality of free trade agreements (FTAs) in terms of tariff elimination for agricultural products and rules of origin. While analyzing the improvement of non-tariff barriers and trade rules is also important in determining the quality of FTAs, this cannot be easily evaluated in quantitative terms. The paper analyzes market access in representative FTAs such as NAFTA, EU-Mexico FTA, Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations (CER), Japan-Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement (JSEPA), Japan-Mexico Economic Partnership Agreement (JSEPA), ASEAN-China FTA, Korea-Mexico FTA and Chile-Korea FTA. It discusses theoretical aspects of rules of origin and provides the evaluation results on the stringency (restrictiveness) of rules of origin.
Accessed on 9 April < http://www.rieti.go.jp/jp/publications/dp/07e016.pdf >

Services Trade and Domestic Regulation. February 2007. Available online (PDF-Format, 53 pages, 585 KB). Trade Policy Working Paper No. 49. Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
This paper argues that regulatory measures affect the fixed cost of entering a market as well as the variable costs of servicing that market. Moreover, differences in regulation among countries often imply that firms have to incur entry costs in every new market. Indicators of regulatory intensity and heterogeneity are introduced in a gravity model and their impact on market entry and subsequent trade flows estimated for total services, business services and financial services. It is found that regulatory heterogeneity has a relatively large negative impact on both market entry and subsequent trade flows. Further, regulatory barriers have a negative effect on the local services sectors’ export performance. Finally it is found that regulations that aims at correcting market failure can have a positive impact on trade. It is concluded that services trade liberalization and regulatory reforms are complementary in creating competitive services markets.
Accessed on 3 April
< http://www.olis.oecd.org/olis/2006doc.nsf/43bb6130e5e86e5fc12569fa005d004c/ >

Signing away the Future. How trade and investment agreements between rich and poor countries undermine development. March 2007. Available online (PDF-Format, 46 pages, 302 KB). Oxfam Briefing Paper.
This paper advocates that the quiet advance of trade and investment agreements between rich and poor countries threatens to deny developing countries a favorable foothold in the global economy. It argues that trade and investment are essential for development, and the imbalances that characterize and distort global trade and investment rules must be addressed as a matter of urgency. In order to put trade and investment at the service of development, Oxfam proposes that trade rules, whether multilateral, regional, or bilateral, should recognize the special and differential treatment that developing countries require in order to move up the development ladder; enable developing countries to adopt flexible intellectual-property legislation to ensure the primacy of public health and agricultural livelihoods and protect traditional knowledge and biodiversity; exclude essential public services such as education, health, water and sanitation from liberalization commitments; recognize the right of Governments to regulate the entry of foreign investors to promote development and the creation of decent employment, and include commitments to enforce core labour standards for all workers; and ensure mechanisms for extensive participation of all stakeholders in the negotiating process, with full disclosure of information to the public, including the findings of independent impact assessments.
Accessed on 9 April
< http://www.oxfam.org/en/files/bp101_regional_trade_agreements_0703/download >

South Asian Free Trade Agreement: Prospects of Shallow Regional Integration. February 2007. Available online (PDF-Format, 36 pages, 151 KB). CSGR Working Paper 218/07, Centre for the Study of Globalization and Regionalization (CSGR).
This paper essentially focuses on the belated regionalization attempts of the South Asian economies and myriad of problems that are coming in their way to forming a smoothly functioning free trade area and regional integration agreement. Notwithstanding their efforts, progress so far has been tardy. Although South Asian economies took several liberalization measures during the 1990-2005 period, this group of economies was the most highly protected group in the global economy in 2005. It lagged behind in opening its domestic economy to global competition as well as in attracting FDI. Furthermore, evidence of trade complementarity in South Asian economies is mixed so far, which made creation of an FTA a weak proposition. However, this paper recommends that despite lack of success, South Asian economies should continue their endeavors to regionalize. At present, these economies are at a low level of per capita income and economic development. As they move up their respective growth trajectories, they are likely to develop complementaries. If these economies continue to grapple with their current hurdles to regionalization, in the medium-term South Asian economies stand to gain in
welfare terms even if they succeed in shallow regional integration.
Accessed on 9 April
< http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/csgr/research/workingpapers/2007/wp21807.pdf >

Trade and Employment. Challenges for Policy Research. Available online (PDF-Format, 115 pages, 608 KB). International Labour Office (ILO) and World Trade Organization (WTO).
This study is the outcome of collaborative research between the Secretariat of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Labour Office (ILO). It addresses the relationship between trade and employment. On the basis of an overview of the existing academic literature, the study provides an impartial view of what can be said, and with what degree of confidence, on the relationship between trade and employment, an often contentious issue of public debate. Its focus is on the connections between trade policies, and labour and social policies and it will be useful for all those who are interested in this debate: academics and policy-makers, workers and employers, trade and labour specialists. The single main conclusion that emerges from this study is that trade policies and labour and social policies do interact and that greater policy coherence in the two domains can help to ensure that trade reforms have significantly positive effects on both growth and employment. From this perspective, research directed at supporting the formulation of more effective and coherent policies would clearly have a high pay-off to the international community.
Accessed on 9 April < http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/ilo_e.pdf >

Trade Liberalization, Macroeconomic Adjustment, and Welfare: Unifying Trade and Macro Models. December 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 28 pages, 506 KB). Working Paper, International Monetary Fund.
Trade liberalization leads to long-run gains, but it can also involve costly short-run macroeconomic adjustment. This paper explores the relative importance of these effects within a dynamic general equilibrium model that captures key elements of both international trade and macroeconomic models. The welfare effect of trade liberalization is decomposed into a steady-state efficiency gain and a transitional loss associated with wage-price stickiness. The authors’ estimates show that the transitional loss is small relative to the steady-state gain, and tends to be lower under flexible as compared to fixed exchange rates. They also show that the loss can be reduced further by a flexible price-level targeting policy rule.
Accessed on 9 April < http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2006/wp06304.pdf >

http://fita.org/index.html
Federation of International Trade Associations (FITA)
E-mail: info@fita.org
The Federation of International Trade Associations was founded in 1984 to foster international trade. The FITA Global Trade Portal is a source for international import export trade leads and events, and links to 8,000 international trade-related websites. The 400,000 organizations linked to FITA through their membership in a FITA member association represent a broad cross-section of the international trade community, including manufacturers, trading companies, contractors, freight forwarders, custom house brokers, law firms, and consultants. The website features trade leads; market research; country profiles; a tradeshow calendar; trade software; trade glossaries; maps, weights and measures; trade law; books and publications; travel services; a career centre and much more.

http://www.fraec.org
Foundation for Russian American Economic Cooperation (FRAEC)
The Foundation for Russian American Economic Cooperation is to further economic and community ties with the Russian Federation while maintaining a unique focus on the Russian Far East. FRAEC serves as a hub through which grassroots organizations, the private sector, regional officials and federal decision makers are interconnected. It offers business consultancy, operates a business centre in Sakhalin and has developed many initiatives, including CLEAR-PAC, a software system to integrate Russian Customs and the trade community for an expedited, efficient and transparent customs clearance process in the Russian Federation.

http://www.globalautonomy.ca
Globalization and Autonomy
E-mail: globalautonomy@mcmaster.ca
The Globalization and Autonomy online compendium is published by a team of Canadian and international scholars who are part of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Major Collaborative Research Initiative on Globalization and Autonomy. The compendium comprises the results of research available, including a glossary of hundreds of short articles on relevant persons, places, organizations, events and key concepts as well as an extensive searchable bibliographical database. The compendium also contains position papers and peer-reviewed research articles on globalization and autonomy issues. Information can be searched or browsed via a list of topics including community and identity; culture; democracy; global governance; indigenous peoples; property rights; technology; trade and finance; and world history

http://www.gdnet.org/
Global Development Network (GDN)
E-mail: gdni@gdnet.org
The Global Development Network is a worldwide network of research and policy institutes working to provide a fresh and relevant perspective to development challenges. To promote homegrown expertise in development research, GDN helps researchers from the developing and transition countries to generate new knowledge in the social sciences and build research capacity; share research output, data, and experiences across regions; and apply research to policy and inform policymakers. The website serves as depository of research output from the developing world with nearly 11,000 research papers available online. The site also features regional portals, including for the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Oceania and South Asia.

http://www.haffa.com.hk/
Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics (HAFFA)
E-mail: enquiry@haffa.com.hk
The Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics is a non-profit organization which promotes, protects and develops the carriage of goods (whether by air, sea or land) generally, and the businesses of cargo forwarding agents and logistics service providers in particular. It acts as voice for the industry at official and Government levels and is responsible for setting industry standards and providing educational courses and business development programmes which enhance the professional levels of freight forwarders and logistics service providers in Hong Kong, China.

http://www.miti.gov.my/ekpweb/application
Malaysia Trade and Industry Portal
The Malaysia Trade and Industry Portal is a comprehensive one-stop information portal for trade and industry-related issues. The portal combines information from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA), the Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), the National Productivity Corporation (NPC), and the Small and Medium Industries Development Corporation (SMIDEC). The portal features a vast range of services including online application forms, downloadable manuals (e.g. on registration for GSP), publications, statistics, business library and much more.

http://www.sicc.com.sg/
Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (SICC)
The Singapore International Chamber of Commerce is the oldest Chamber of Commerce in Asia and the oldest commercial organization in Singapore and today counts among its members business enterprises operated over 40 nationalities. The Chamber serves as voice for the business community in Singapore. It is accepted by the Government as representing the multinational investment interests in the country. SICC also provides assistance and information to members and issues certificates of origin and shipping documents, including TDB/BOFT Carnets, which allow Singapore and Taiwan Province of China to admit each other's goods duty-free; and ATA Carnets to facilitate the temporary import of exhibition/advertising materials, commercial samples and professional equipment.

http://cibresearch.tuck.dartmouth.edu/trade_agreements_db/archive.php
Tuck Trade Agreements Database
E-mail: intl.business@dartmouth.edu
The Tuck Trade Agreements Database, maintained by the Center for International Business at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, contains a comprehensive collection of texts of bilateral and regional free trade agreements. It contains the text-searchable versions of all bilateral and regional free trade agreements and customs union agreements that have been notified to the WTO as of June 2003, and are in force, plus many that have not been notified to the WTO. Users can search any individual agreement, subset of agreements, or the entire database in any of more than 70 indexed provision fields such as duties and charges on imports, quantitative restrictions on imports, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, agriculture, investment, services, dispute settlement procedures; intellectual property; labour and environment.

http://www.oie.int/eng/en_index.htm
World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)
E-mail: oie@oie.int
The World Organization for Animal Health is an intergovernmental organization that works to ensure transparency in the global animal disease situation; to collect, analyze and disseminate veterinary scientific information; to provide expertise and encourage international solidarity in the control of animal diseases; to safeguard world trade by publishing health standards for international trade in animals and animal products; and to improve the legal framework and resources of national Veterinary Services. The website informs about agreements and official acts, international meetings, the world animal health situation, emergency preparedness, diseases such as BSE, statistics, and much more.

Information is taken mainly from secondary sources and UNESCAP accepts no responsibility for its accuracy. Mention of any companies and their products does not imply endorsement by the United Nations.

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.