Abstract: Myanmar’s emergence from decades of isolation provides an opportunity to learn from the experiences of its neighbours to guide its economic transition and achieve strong and inclusive growth. The development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is an effective mechanism in achieving socioeconomic growth, but Myanmar poses a list of challenges that need to be overcome first, including poor infrastructure and limited market access.

Regardless of the occasional dissenting voices, free trade is now being embraced by many of the nations of the world. South Asian countries joined the global consensus for frictionless trade by forming regional trade blocs under the banner of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). However, intra- and interregional trade in SAARC has not yet reached the desired stage, and a range of empirical studies have therefore been carried out with the objective of determining the causes.

Abstract: The small and medium enterprise (SME) sector in the Philippines is a significant group within the economy in terms of firm numbers and total employment. However, the SME sector’s share of exports is disproportionately small, which raises considerable policy concerns. Prompted by the aforementioned policy issue, this study assesses the different factors that affect SME decisions (a) to export (propensity) and (b) on how much to export (intensity), i.e., export performance.

Abstract: Several studies using firm-level data could not find significant evidence to support that exporting activities promote productivity growth. However, few studies have considered whether exporting companies can create spillovers to domestic firms. In fact, exporting companies create positive productivity spillovers to their domestic peers (horizontal spillovers), suppliers (backward linkage spillovers) and buyers (forward linkage spillovers).

Under the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) all parties to the agreement are allowed flexibility in issuing licenses for manufacturing pharmaceutical drugs, in line with their public policy objectives. The licenses may be issued under certain conditions, even if the patent holder (innovator) has an exclusive right to the markets. India made use of this flexibility in March 2012 when it granted its first compulsory license to a domestic company for manufacturing and selling a generic version of an anti-cancer drug.

By applying panel estimation models to Chinese provincial level data for 1993- 2008, this paper examine the impacts of China’s coastal foreign direct investment (FDI) and exports on its inland regions. The results show that coastal FDI has overall positive interregional impacts, while coastal exports do not. Cooperative joint ventures generate positive impacts, but little impact is produced by wholly foreign-funded enterprises. In the case of equity joint ventures, there may even be negative impacts.

This paper looks at the possibilities of a concluding “Bali package” on the issues that are currently engaging the WTO Members. It gives an account of the discussions currently taking place on each of the three areas and makes an assessment whether it is possible for the key countries to arrive at a consensus in time for the Ministers to give their endorsement in Bali.

This paper investigates whether trade facilitation measures benefit the poor and explores the role of microfinance in supporting the utilization of the trade facilitation initiatives. The focus of the study is on the Economic Corridors and Cross Border Transportation Agreement (CBTA), an Asian Development Bank programme to facilitate trade in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Trade facilitation refers to all measures that can be taken to facilitate cross-border trade flows, but there is no standard formal definition of trade facilitation. This paper examines whether export-oriented MSMEs have access to trade facilitation and how helpful trade facilitation is in supporting exports by MSMEs.

Export Processing Zones (EPZs) have been among the primary factors of export-oriented growth in recent decades. EPZs first came about in 1959 with the establishment of the Shannon Zone in Ireland. Following that, the first few zones were envisaged primarily as industrial zones that were to attract foreign investors to set up facilities to process imported materials and subsequently export their products. With regard to trade facilitation, it is clear that EPZs offer some important advantages.