Trade and International Integration

The Trade and International Integration Research Program aims to improve understanding of the role of global economic integration in development and poverty reduction. We are also developing databases and analytic tools to analyze the impact of policy reforms.

Featured

World Bank Research presented at Competitiveness Research Network Talks
November 2, 2021
The Competitiveness Research Network (CompNet) is a research network originally founded by the European System of Central Banks in 2012 to foster the debate on competitiveness issues among policy institutions and researchers.
Long-term Labor Market Adjustment to Transitory Shocks: Worker Impact and Firm Channels (Presentation by Ana Margarida Fernandes (World Bank) and Joana Silva (World Bank) | Division of Unexpected Revenue Shocks (Paper by Paulo Bastos (World Bank), Natalia Monteiro (University of Minho), and Odd Rume Straume (University of Minho) | Recording
Eighth IMF-WB-WTO Trade Research Conference
October 4-5, 2021
The annual International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB), World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Research Conference brings together experts on trade from the three institutions to share and disseminate their latest research findings. This year the event will include sessions on global value chains, growth and market structure, institutional quality, and technology, as well as a concluding policy panel with senior representatives from each institution on the role of trade in a post-covid world.
Agenda, Papers, Presentations, Selected Recordings
Migration and Development Conference
September 9-11, 2021
The 14th International Conference on “Migration and Development” will investigate international migration and its effects on economic and social change in developing countries.
Program 2021
The Economics of Deep Trade Agreements
eBook, June 2021
While multilateral trade negotiations have stagnated and tensions between major players have surged, bilateral and regional agreements seem to have run away with the trade agenda. Many of these agreements have extended their reach well beyond tariffs, covering policy areas such as environment, intellectual property rights, state-owned enterprises. They aim to achieve integration beyond trade, or “deep” integration. This e-book is the result of a World Bank research project on the economics of deep trade agreements. It covers the determinants and consequences of deep trade agreements and discusses how they may shape world trade in a post-COVID-19 world.
eBook 2021 | VoxEU Blog | Launch Event, July 19, 2021 | Seminar Series, October 2020 | Handbook of Deep Trade Agreements, 2020 | Project Website | More research by Ana Fernandes
Developing a Plan to Vaccinate the World

June 2, 2021
In this talk, World Bank economist Tristan Reed explored new research on vaccine demand and supply that offers a path to reaching higher vaccination coverage against COVID-19, including challenges and opportunities around closing global vaccination gaps, examining vaccine need given age structures, available vaccines and COVID-19 dynamics, organized demand and financing for vaccine purchasing, vaccine supply chains and production capacity of manufacturers, and what the international community should do next.
Recording | Presentation | Event Information | Working Paper | Coverage in The Economist | More research by Tristan Reed
Trade, Robots, and Industrial Development
March 23, 2021
In this talk, World Bank economist Paulo Bastos drew on several recent studies to identify key drivers of firm-level upgrading and industrial development, including entrepreneurial ability, exports, foreign ownership, training, and learning by working. This evidence provides insights on the implications of robotization for trade between developed and developing countries and policy options for promoting industrial development and trade-led growth.
Presentation | Video | Event Information | Related Newsletter | More research by Paulo Bastos
Who on Earth Can Work from Home? A global comparison sheds light on the importance of ICT infrastructure

October 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to inflict severe pain in labor markets across the globe, and policy makers will need to target support to workers who are hit hardest. To inform such efforts, a recent working paper Who on Earth Can Work from Home presents an estimate of jobs that can be done from home across the globe.
Story | Working Paper | Journal Article | COVID-19 eSeminar Video | More research by Çağlar Özden
Trade Research, Data, and Policy Insights on the COVID-19 Pandemic
This roundup of trade research, data, and policy insights by the Development Research Group at the World Bank focuses on the early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the international movement of goods and services, and the people affected.
More Featured Research »

LATEST WORKING PAPERS

Corruption in Customs
Cyril Chalendard, Ana Margarida Fernandes, Gael Raball, Bob Rijkers
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9802, October 2021

Countries and Sectors in Global Value Chains
Alessandro Borin, Michele Mancini, Daria Taglioni
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9785, September 2021

Patterns of Labor Market Adjustment to Trade Shocks with Imperfect Capital Mobility
Erhan Artuc, Irene Brambilla, Guido Porto
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9775, September 2021

Road Capacity, Domestic Trade and Regional Outcomes
Kerem Cosar, Banu Demir, Devaki Ghose, Nathaniel Young
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9772, September 2021

Protectionism and Gender Inequality in Developing Countries
Erhan Artuc, Nicolas Depetris Chauvin, Guido Porto, Bob Rijkers
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9750, August 2021

More Working Papers

LATEST JOURNAL ARTICLES

Measuring Employment: Experimental Evidence from Urban Ghana
Rachel Heath, Ghazala Mansuri, Bob Rijkers, William Seitz, Dhiraj Sharma
The World Bank Economic Review 35 (3): 635–51, October 2021 | Working Paper Version

Segregation and internal mobility of Syrian refugees in Turkey: Evidence from mobile phone data
Çağlar Özden, Sinmone Bertoli, Michael Packard
Journal of Development Economics 152: 102704 2021, September 2021

Determinants of Global Value Chain Participation: Cross-Country Evidence
Ana Fernandes, Hiau Looi Kee, Deborah Winkle
World Bank Economic Review: lhab017, August 2021 | Working Paper Version

BOOKS AND REPORTS

The Economics of Deep Trade Agreements

eBook, June 2021
While multilateral trade negotiations have stagnated and tensions between major players have surged, bilateral and regional agreements seem to have run away with the trade agenda. Many of these agreements have extended their reach well beyond tariffs, covering policy areas such as environment, intellectual property rights, state-owned enterprises. They aim to achieve integration beyond trade, or “deep” integration. This e-book is the result of a World Bank research project on the economics of deep trade agreements. It covers the determinants and consequences of deep trade agreements and discusses how they may shape world trade in a post-COVID-19 world.
eBook | VoxEU Blog | Launch Event, July 29 2021 | Project Website
World Development Report 2020: Trading for Development in the Age of Global Value Chains

October 2019
This report examines whether there is still a path to development through GVCs and trade. It concludes that technological change is at this stage more a boon than a curse. GVCs can continue to boost growth, create better jobs, and reduce poverty provided that developing countries implement deeper reforms to promote GVC participation, industrial countries pursue open, predictable policies, and all countries revive multilateral cooperation.
Report | Website | Blogs
Exports to Jobs: Boosting the Gains from Trade in South Asia
February 2019
South Asia’s economy has grown rapidly, and the region has made a significant reduction in poverty. However, jobs for the growing working population remain limited. Policy makers are contending with lingering concerns about jobless growth and poor job quality. This report argues that exports could bring higher wages and better jobs to South Asia.
Moving for Prosperity: Global Migration and Labor Markets
June 2018
Global labor mobility is a potent tool to end poverty, with migrants tripling their wages or more. Better labor market policies to manage short-run economic tensions can ensure that destination countries and migrants share the benefits of global labor mobility for generations to come.
Report | Presentation | Video | More research by Çağlar Özden