Conducted by the ESCAP with ARTNeT Secretariat, the purpose of the survey is to collect information regarding the public perception on how preferential trade agreements might affect inclusive and equitable trade.

The information you provide in this questionnaire is essential for us, as it will help identify the perception of the impacts that preferential trade agreements have had on inclusive and equitable trade. It will also generate ideas on potential improvements for the preferential trade agreements policies.

Please answer the survey at the link here. 

Using primary evidence for 146 Indian manufacturing firms, the author examines the types of lobbying strategies for trade policy influence and what drives firm choice for these strategies. Firms can lobby collectively in a group (Join Hands), lobby individually as a single firm (Walk Alone), or adopt a dual lobbying strategy that is a unique combination of collective and individual lobbying. The findings are a first for India, and suggest the following: First, Indian manufacturing firms join hands (lobby using a collective strategy) when targeting sector-wide outcomes in the nature of public goods; firms join hands while walking alone (dual strategy) when targeting product- specific outcomes. Second, the likelihood of adopting a dual lobbying strategy is higher in sectors that are characterized by low concentration (dispersion is higher) such that firms increase their chances of trade policy influence. This suggests a strong competition effect (driving cooperation and individual lobbying) over any free-riding that drives firm strategy to lobby for trade policy influence in India. Finally, availability of resources and lobbying time are significant drivers for the type of strategy undertaken.

For the full ARTNeT working paper please visit here. 

The ARTNeT in collaboration with our member, the International Institute for Trade and Development (ITD) and the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand, is organizing a training course on “E-Commerce and Emerging Digital Trade Agenda”. The participants will include officials and stakeholders from Bhutan, Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam.

The training aims to contribute towards development of foundational level competencies in order to 1) Form an understanding of the importance of e-commerce within the Inclusive Trade and Digital Economy context; 2) Create familiarisation of emerging future trade enabling agendas including new terms, reference points; 3) Formulate country level agenda to promote e-Commerce for SME and start-ups; and 4) Perform preliminary country level assessment of e-Trade readiness. Guest speakers are recruited from Huawei technologies Co., Ltd., Thailand e-commerce Association and Nextrade.

For more information about the training please visit here.

The purpose of the regional dialogue is to bring together experts to review the contemporary thinking and evidence on the linkages between trade policies, particularly preferential trade agreements, and inclusive outcomes. Furthermore, the event will provide an opportunity to share and discuss experiences and lessons learnt by the selected pilot countries for the project in Asia and the Pacific in their efforts to liberalize trade and investment, especially through the preferential trade agreements. Special attention will be paid to their impacts on inclusive and equitable results such as enhanced employment opportunities; positive impacts on gender equity; and enhanced contribution to general welfare, in particular for excluded groups.

For the more information about the dialogue please visit here. 

The ESCAP, in collaboration with the Department of Trade, Ministry of Commerce, Government of Myanmar organised a capacity-building workshop on preferential trade agreements, 7-9 June 2017, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. There were over forty participants from government, academic institutes and think-tanks. The workshop increased the awareness of government officials and trade negotiators of the potential socio-economic impacts of preferential trade agreements and how they can be managed through ex-ante and ex-post adjustments. The participants enhanced the understanding of how liberalisation through preferential trade agreements can lead to more inclusive and equitable trade.

For more information on workshop please visit here. 

The ARTNeT in collaboration with our member, the International Institute for Trade and Development (ITD) and the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand, organized a training course on "Trade facilitation and paperless trade". With more than thirty participants from CLMV countries and the other partner countries, the course provided an update on the state of implementation of key trade facilitation and paperless trade measures in the region. Important agreements and other instruments were introduced, in particular the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and the new Framework Agreement on the Facilitation of Cross-Border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific. Participants learnt how to conduct a Business Process Analysis project to simplify trade procedures. Good practices in implementing electronic single window and other paperless trade systems for trade facilitation were reviewed.

For more information on the workshop please visit here.

In collaboration with ARTNeT and ESCAP, the National University of Malaysia (UKM), the University of Oxford and World Trade Institute (WTI) are convening the ASEAN Economic Integration Forum 2017 (AEIF2017) at ESCAP, Bangkok on the 14th to 15th September 2017. The theme of the forum is “50 Years and Beyond: Forging an Inclusive ASEAN”. The conveners are organizing the forum in collaboration with the ESCAP, the ARTNeT member International Institute for Trade and Development (ITD), ASEAN University Network (AUN).

The objectives of this forum are to provide policy recommendations to ASEAN and members states on inclusive and bottom-up development approach for the region; and to promote meaningful discourse on AEC that goes beyond economic imperatives. The committee would like to invite you to participate as paper contributors and participants to the forum.

If you are interested in submitting papers, or acting as discussants/moderators, please contact artnetontrade@un.org

Journal of International Trade, an annual peer-reviewed journal by the our member CWS, is issuing a Call for Papers to be published in its Second Volume in 2017 on issues within the area of International Trade. JIT invites articles, case comments, book reviews and reflections by students, academicians, practitioners and negotiators in the sphere of international trade law, international trade economics and international trade policy. The journal’s scope of publication for Volume II includes the following themes: 1) E-Commerce, 2) Changing architecture on rules in services and 3) Development implications of strong IPR protection. 

For more information about the call please visit here. 

Our member PIDE cordially invites you to be part of the conference by submitting a paper, register for the conference as participant, virtual participation, stall establishment or be a proud sponsor.

More information on this call please visit here. 

Please find more details of the calls from our associate partner ADBI at the links below:

Handbook of Green Finance: Energy Security and Sustainable Development (Deadline: 30 June 2017)

Public and Private Investment in Human Capital Intergenerational Transfers in Asia (Deadline: 15 August 2017)

International Conference on Supply-Side Support for SMEs (Deadline: 31 August 2017)

IDF is inviting you to submit papers on Inclusive Economic Growth. The idea of inclusive economic growth continues to be developed, including methods to measure it. Looking at the inclusive economic growth itself, currently, the government is studying and formulating this concept. This theme has been highlighted in numerous occasions and is regarded as an important theme by the academia and government institutions alike. Indicators to reflect inclusive growth are being designed, including its measurement methods. Inclusive growth and ways to determine inclusive economic growth index for Indonesia are important topics to address.

For more detail about the call please visit here. 

Our members, South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), Dhaka and South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), Kathmandu together with the Centre for WTO Studies (CWS), New Delhi are organizing the “10th South Asian Training Program on CGE Modelling” from 12-16 August 2017 in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

Applications are invited from interested and eligible candidates for the training program. Potential participants should have at least a Masters degree in Economics or a related field and a sound knowledge of applied micro and macro economics.

For more information on application please visit here.

The objective of the course from our core partner UNCTAD is to provide participants with the knowledge and tools needed to identify, classify and collect information about national NTMs, as part of the international effort to improve access and increase transparency with regard to these measures.

Candidates must hold a Master’s Degree in Economics, Law, Public Policy, or International Relations. Applications may also be accepted from students enrolled in such programmes who hold a Bachelor's degree in one of these fields. Also required are: basic knowledge of Microsoft Excel, very good knowledge of English, and familiarity with government/ministry structures responsible for setting regulations.

For the application details please visit here. 

The Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Forum (APTFF) 2017 will showcase national and subregional innovations for trade facilitation and sustainable development. The ESCAP and ADB are inviting the submission of case studies on innovative implementation of trade facilitation agendas. The authors of the three "best" case studies on trade facilitation innovations will be invited to participate and present their case study during the APTFF 2017 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia from 5-8 September 2017.

For more details of the awards please visit here.

Our associate partner ERIA is looking for proposals that address issues related to energy poverty in the ASEAN region. The proposal will need to have a clear methodology of study, the quantitative concept of energy poverty will need to be defined, and the study may cover country specific issues using cross-sectional data or be a multi-country study using time series. 

For more detail on this call please visit here. 

Our associate partner ERIA is recruiting for a senior position (10 years experince) of policy fellow. Please find the post here. 

Boston University's Global Economic Governance Initiative (GEGI) invites applications for a post-doctoral research fellowship position to work with GEGI's research team on the economic, social, and environmental implications of China's overseas development finance. The post-doctoral research fellow will hold a PhD in a relevant social science with a dissertation on Chinese overseas development finance or a related topic. The fellowship is an appointment for the 2017-2018 academic year.

For more application information please visit here.

This course from our associate partner ITC introduces participants to the different aspects of competitiveness in trade in services, with the aim of identifying specific actions to enhance it. The course lectures cover the importance of trade in services for a country's economy from a developmental perspective, the framework for assessing competitiveness in trade in services, and finally the role which Trade and Investment Support Institutions (TISIs) can play in supporting small and medium service enterprises through policy advocacy, sector development and capacity building. Particular focus is placed on value chains, as well as on the role of digital technology for trade in services.

You can access to the course here. 

This 3-hour self-paced course explains how international environmental agreements and policies are made, by whom, and how they are complied with, and enforced. Participants will also gain a greater understanding of the strengths and weakness of existing environmental governance regimes.

All stakeholders interested to learn about the main aspects of environmental governance regimes, as well as the principal actors involved and needed reforms, can benefit from this course.

The course is a collaborative effort between UNITAR and UN Environment, which expands the learning portfolio available on InforMEA platform. Upon successful completion, participants will receive a joint certificate UNITAR – UN Environment.

Enroll now - Free of charge!

According to the World Economic Forum, the Philippines has been leading the economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in advancing gender equality since 2006. However, the organization noted that the country still needs to address the lack of economic opportunities for Filipino women. This Policy Note from our member PIDS examines this scenario using select indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals and finds that employed Filipino women indeed face more disadvantages than men. The study urges the government to assess the reasons behind this inequality, as well as the persistence of gender wage gaps in some sectors and occupations. It also calls for the government to address the gender-based barriers that hinder opportunities for capacity development and career advancement of women in the Philippines.

The Financial Planning Research Journal (FPRJ) from our member Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Griffith Business School, Griffith University, aims to publish high-quality, original, scholarly peer-reviewed articles from a wide variety of personal finance, investment and taxation disciplines. These include, but are not restricted to, economics, finance, management, accounting, marketing, taxation, behavioural finance, financial literacy, financial education and law. The issue is that they are of interest to the practice and policy of financial planning in Australia. 

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been hailed as a major tax reform in India to help streamline the indirect tax structure, reducing complications for businesses, apart from widening the tax base and increasing tax revenues. This brief from our member iSAS-NUS highlights some major attributes of the GST noting a few points which may affect the economic prospects in the short run.

Alex Kravchenko is the newest addition to ARTNeT team. Prior to joining Trade, Investment and Innovation Division, Alex worked for ESCAP's ICT and Disaster Risk Reduction Division. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Before joining ESCAP in 2016, he ran an economic consultancy specializing in non-market valuation and taught econometrics. Alex speaks Russian, English, Mandarin and Thai.

School of Economics, University of Adelaide (Link)

Animal Spirits, Financial Markets and Aggregate Instability

 

Centre of Policy Dialogue (CPD)

State of the Bangladesh Economy in FY2016-17

Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI)

Implementing new VAT Law—Govt should stay the course

The imperative for national statistical agency

Centre for WTO Studies (CWS)

When sharing isn't always caring: Understanding telecom infrastructure sharing in the multilateral context

Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB)

Financial Inclusion in India: A Case Study of Gubbi

Reviving the Punjab Economy

Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries (RIS)

India-Singapore CECA – An Appraisal

Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)

Towards Deeper Integration Among China, Japan and Korea

Investment Puzzle: Deeper Roots

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Foreign Direct Investment and Wage Inequality: Evidence from the People’s Republic of China

Trade and SDG 13 – Action on Climate Change

Can Online Markets Make Trade More Inclusive?

The Evolving Multilayered Global Financial Safety Net: The Case of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations+3 Regional Financial Safety Net and the International Monetary Fund

Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)

Managing Stranded Assets and Protecting Food Value Chains from Natural Disasters

Peat Policy and Its Implications on Value Chains of Indonesian Palm Oil

Chained to Sustainable Development Goals? The Changing Role of Entities for Enhanced Resilience along Agriculture Food Value Chains in Thailand

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Small, Medium, Strong. Trends in SME Performance and Business Conditions

Climate change and trade policy interactions: Implications of regionalism

Promoting Strong and Inclusive Growth in India

World Bank (WB)

World Development Indicators

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

Promoting investment in the digital economy

The role of science, technology and innovation in ensuring food security by 2030

New innovation approaches to support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals

Investor-state dispute settlement: Review of developments in 2016

FDI to the most vulnerable economies declined in 2016, with possible modest recovery in 2017

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The ARTNeT Secretariat welcomes submissions of policy briefs, working papers, book reports, research reports, and book reviews by ARTNeT members, partners and collaborators. For any submission to be considered, the editorial 'Guidelines for Submissions to the ARTNeT Working Papers Series' must be adhered to.

If you are an ARTNeT member, partner or collaborator and would like to publicise your publications, research or events in the next newsletter, please e-mail us at artnetontrade@un.org.