Poverty, inequality and trade facilitation in low-and middle-income countries

Trade facilitation has recently begun emerging as an important strategy in international trade promotion. Dollar and others (2006) found that the number of days taken to clear goods through customs had a negative effect on exports in developing countries. Iwanow and Kirkpatrick (2007) found that a 10 per cent improvement in trade facilitation could increase export volume by around 5 per cent. Djankov and others (2010) examined the effect of time delays in the shipment of products on international trade. They found that each additional day that a product was delayed could decrease the international trade volume by about 1 per cent.

Related Subject(s): Economic and Social Development