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

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 | COVID-19 eSeminar Video
The Economics of Deep Trade Agreements Seminar Series
October 2020
This series of webinars on The Economics of Deep Trade Agreements brings together leading trade experts to present ongoing research on the determinants and consequences of regional trade agreements and to advance our understanding of key issues in trade agreements and regional integration.
Watch the replays
Migration and Development Conference
September 24-25, 2020
The 13th Annual Migration and Development Conference brought together leading researchers and policymakers to present and discuss their work on the economics of international mobility and its linkages to development.
Recording links by session
Elite Capture of Foreign Aid: Evidence from Offshore Bank Accounts

February 2020
In this seminar World Bank economist Bob Rijkers presented the results of a Policy Research Working Paper on "Elite Capture of Foreign Aid: Evidence from Offshore Bank Accounts."
Video, Presentation, Working Paper
Development Policy and COVID-19 eSeminar Series – Talks on Trade
Ongoing
This seminar series brings leading economists, public health experts, and other social scientists together with World Bank Group researchers to discuss emerging research on COVID-19 and its implications for development policy. Talks on Trade include the following topics (video, presentations, papers).
Trade and Global Value Chains in the Age of COVID-19 (April 22, 2020) | Labor Mobility, Migration, and COVID-19 (Part 1-May 7, 2020) | Labor Mobility, Migration, and COVID-19 (Part 2-May 14, 2020) | The Labor Market Impacts of COVID-19 (July 6, 2020)
More Featured Research »

WORKING PAPERS

Do Immigrants Push Natives towards Safer Jobs? Exposure to COVID-19 in the European Union
Laurent Bossavie, Daniel Garrote Sanchez, Mattia Makovec, Çağlar Özden
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9500, December 2020

Long-run Returns to Impact Investing in Emerging Market and Developing Economies
Shawn Cole, Martin Melecky, Florian Mölders, Tristan Reed
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9366, August 2020

Who on Earth Can Work from Home?
Daniel Garrote Sanchez, Nicolas Gomez Parra, Çağlar Özden, Bob Rijkers, Mariana Viollaz, Hernan Winkler
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9347, July 2020

More Working Papers

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Software Adoption, Employment Composition, and the Skill Content of Occupations in Chilean Firms
Rita Almeida, Ana M. Fernandes, Mariana Viollaz
Journal of Development Studies 56 (1): 169-185, 2020 | Working Paper Version

Labor Supply Responses to Health Shocks: Evidence from High-Frequency Labor Market Data from Urban Ghana
Rachel Heath, Ghazala Mansuri, Bob Rijkers
J. Human Resources, Online November 13, 2019 | Working Paper Version

BOOKS AND REPORTS

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
Global Trade Watch 2018: Trade Amid Tensions
May 2019
Global trade growth slowed in 2018 amid a weakening of economic growth in China and the Euro Area and rising trade protectionism. The volume of trade grew by 3.8 percent, down from 5.4 percent in 2017, but has shown signs of reviving in the first quarter of 2019.
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