Abstract

Surprisingly little is known about policies that affect international trade in services. Previous analyses have focused on policy commitments made by countries in international agreements but these commitments do not in many cases reflect actual policy. This paper describes a new initiative to collect comparable information on services trade policies for 103 countries, across a range of service sectors and the relevant modes of service delivery. The resultant database reveals interesting patterns in policy. Across regions, some of the fastest growing countries in Asia and the oil-rich Gulf states have the most restrictive policies in services, whereas some of the poorest countries are remarkably open. Across sectors, professional and transportation services are among the most protected in both industrial and developing countries, while retail, telecommunications and even finance tend to be more open. An illustrative set of results suggests that trade policies matter for investment flows and access to services. In particular, restrictions on foreign acquisitions, discrimination in licensing, restrictions on the repatriation of earnings and lack of legal recourse all have a significant and sizable negative effect, reducing the expected value of sectoral foreign investment by $2.2 billion over a 7-year period, compared with"open"policy regimes. In terms of access to services, credit as a share of gross domestic product is on average 3.3 percentage points lower in countries with major restrictions on the establishment of foreign banks as compared with those that only impose operational restrictions. Document type: Book

Abstract

Can regionalism do what multilateralism has so far failed to do—promote greater openness of services markets? Although previous research has pointed to the wider and deeper legal commitments under regional agreements as proof that it can, no previous study has assessed the impact of such agreements on applied policies. This paper focuses on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), where regional integration of services markets has been linked to thriving regional supply chains. Drawing on surveys conducted in 2008 and 2012 of applied policies in the key services sectors of ASEAN countries, the paper assesses the impact of the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS) and the ambitious ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint, which envisaged integrated services markets by 2015. The analysis finds that over this period, ASEAN did not integrate faster internally than vis-à-vis the rest of the world: policies applied to trade with other ASEAN countries were virtually the same as those applied to trade with rest of the world. Moreover, the recent commitments scheduled under AFAS did not produce significant liberalization and, in a few instances, services trade policy actually became more restrictive. The two exceptions are in areas that are not on the multilateral negotiating agenda: steps have been taken toward creating regional open skies in air transport, and a few mutual recognition agreements have been negotiated in professional services. These findings suggest that regional negotiations add the most value when they are focused on areas that are not being addressed multilaterally. Document type: Article

Abstract

This report has been prepared by the World Bank for the Government of Romania as an output of the World Bank advisory services program on climate change and low-carbon green growth in Romania. In response to the request, the World Bank quickly mobilized a team of sectoral and climate change (CC) specialists and conducted rapid assessments in six sectors - energy, transport, urban, water, agriculture, and forestry, which were pre-identified by both the Government of Romania and the World Bank as areas significant to emission mitigation and or adaptation to CC. The objective of rapid assessments was to quickly evaluate climate risks and identify CC-related investment priorities and necessary implementation support for the 2014-2020 operational programs. This document is the stocktaking report of component A1. It provides an introductory cover to the literature on CC, baseline for Romania, institutional review of Romania and key European Union (EU) requirements, as well as available data sets that were identified in the given short-time span. Its purpose is to support the government as a first stock of key climate and green growth issues for Romania and summarize the current situation. The report is structured as follows: section one gives introduction, section two provides the sectoral summary on the country background and characteristics. Section three provides the baseline for the CC and green growth challenges in Romania. Relevant climate dimensions of Europe 2020 and existing EU regulations and policies related to climate change are summarized in section four. Section five provides an overview of national strategies, regulatory framework, and organizational setup for addressing CC in Romania. Background information on the Romania 2014-2020 European structural and investment funds (ESIF) programming and CC related aspects in the forthcoming ESIF programming report are covered in section six. Finally, section seven provides a CC relevant bibliography for Romania that may serve as a tool for referring to key literature in the field.

Abstract

This is a background paper to the Pacific Possible report. For many Pacific Island countries, tourism is the main economic opportunity to generate incomes and jobs. This report suggests that increasing tourism demand in four areas could drive growth of tourism arrivals in the Pacific: Increasing demand from Chinese tourists, retired persons, high income individuals, and cruise ship operators. It sets out key actions to capitalize on these potential sources of increased demand and ensure the development of the tourism sector in an environmentally, socially, and culturally sustainable manner.