A Multidimensional Approach to Trade Policy Indicators

February 21, 2018

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Format: Chicago

Diego A. Cerdeiro, and Rachel J. Nam A Multidimensional Approach to Trade Policy Indicators, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2018) accessed December 21, 2024

Disclaimer: IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.

Summary

We present and discuss a set of indicators to help assess countries’ trade policies. The indicators relate to three policy areas – trade in goods, trade in services, and FDI. Given concerns about the direction of global trade policy, we also consider a set of more granular measures that reflect the evolution of countries’ policies since the 2008 financial crisis. We propose a simple approach to present the multidimensional aspects of trade policy that, by shedding light on relative openness across areas, can facilitate policy discussions. In the cross-section of countries, we find a diversity in the type of measures adopted, both between and (since the 2008 financial crisis) within policy areas, lending support to the approach based on multiple indicators. The indicators’ time series suggest that advanced and, especially, emerging economies are moving toward more open regimes over time, although recently progress has, with some exceptions, slowed across the board. Lastly, our findings also call for stronger efforts to objectively quantify the different aspects of countries’ trade regimes. More data, both across countries and in terms of policy areas that significantly affect trade, are needed for better-informed policy discussions.

Subject: Balance of payments, Foreign direct investment, International trade, Tariffs, Taxes, Trade barriers, Trade in services, Trade policy

Keywords: Countries' trade policies, Country, Country's trade policy stance, Foreign direct investment, G20 industrial nations, Global, OECD country, Overall-trade-regime indicator, Policy area, Services trade, Tariff line, Tariffs, Trade, Trade barriers, Trade facilitation performance, Trade in goods, Trade in services, Trade policy, Trade policy assessment, Trade policy discussion, Trade policy indicator, Trade policy indicators, WP, WTO agreement, WTO trade policy review

Publication Details

Pages:

37
Volume:

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DOI:

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Issue:

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Series:

Working Paper No. 2018/032
Stock No:

WPIEA2018032
ISBN:

9781484342350
ISSN:

1018-5941

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