Person:
Wiederer, Christina

Trade and Competitiveness
Profile Picture
Author Name Variants
Fields of Specialization
International trade, Trade logistics, Connectivity, Trade facilitation
Degrees
ORCID
Departments
Trade and Competitiveness
Externally Hosted Work
Contact Information
Last updated: May 16, 2024
Biography
Christina Wiederer (born Christina Busch) is a Senior Economist at the World Bank in Washington, DC. She is a member of the Global Trade and Regional Integration team within the Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice. She has led and contributed to analytical, advisory, and lending activities in the areas of trade logistics, connectivity, regional integration, and trade facilitation. She led the 2023 edition of the World Bank's Logistics Performance Index (LPI) and co-authored the 2018, 2016, and 2014 LPI reports, as well as several other World Bank publications on international trade, logistics, and connectivity. Christina holds a PhD in Economics from Technische Universität Berlin, Germany. She also holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Columbia University and an M.Sc. degree in Economics (Diplom-Volkswirtin) from Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin.

Filters

2020 - 202522000 - 20194
Reset filters

Settings

Statistics
Citations

Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    From Survey to Big Data: The New Logistics Performance Index
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-05-16) Arvis, Jean-François; Ulybina, Daria; Wiederer, Christina
    The World Bank has published the Logistics Performance Index since 2007. The Logistics Performance Index used to be based exclusively on perception ratings from a global survey of logistics professionals. In 2023, it was augmented with key performance indicators derived from massive global international shipment tracking data (data on container shipping, air cargo, and postal logistics). The new set of indicators measure the speed and connectivity of international supply chains. This paper presents the data sources, rationale, and production of the indicators. It does not discuss the findings from the new indicators, nor does it introduce additional empirical work. The paper complements the 2023 issue of Connecting to Compete, the companion report to the Logistics Performance Index.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Connecting to Compete 2023: Trade Logistics in an Uncertain Global Economy - The Logistics Performance Index and Its Indicators
    (World Bank, Washington DC, 2023-05-01) Arvis, Jean-François; Ojala, Lauri; Shepherd, Ben; Ulybina, Daria; Wiederer, Christina
    This seventh edition of Connecting to Compete comes as disruptions of global value chains have revealed the crucial importance of logistics systems. Because of these disruptions, supply chain resilience and its national security implications have emerged as top concerns. These concerns are often linked with supply chain security, including cybersecurity—a key consideration in a highly digitalized and globally connected service industry. This report presents the latest view on trade logistics performance across 139 countries. Logistics is understood as a network of services that support the physical movement of goods, trade across borders, and commerce within borders. It comprises transportation, warehousing, brokerage, express delivery, terminal operations, and related data and information management.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Connecting to Compete 2018: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-07-24) Ojala, Lauri; Arvis, Jean-François; Shepherd, Ben; Wiederer, Christina; Raj, Anasuya; Dairabayeva, Karlygash; Kiiski, Tuomas
    This is the sixth edition of Connecting to Compete, a report summarizing the findings from the new dataset for the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) and its component indicators. The 2018 LPI also provides expanded data on supply chain performance and constraints in more than 100 countries, including information on time, distance and reliability, and ratings on domestic infrastructure quality, services, and border agencies. The 2018 LPI encapsulates the firsthand knowledge of movers of international trade. This information is relevant for policymakers and the private sector seeking to identify reform priorities for “soft” and “hard” trade and logistics infrastructure. Findings include: • Gaps in logistics performance between the bottom and top performers persist. • Supply chain reliability and service quality are strongly associated with logistics performance. • Infrastructure and trade facilitation initiatives still play an important role in assuring basic connectivity and access to gateways for most developing countries. • The logistics policy agenda continues to broaden, with growing focus on supply chain resilience, cyber security, environmental sustainability, and skills shortages.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Logistics Competencies, Skills, and Training: A Global Overview
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2017-08-10) McKinnon, Alan; Flöthmann, Christoph; Hoberg, Kai; Busch, Christina
    Despite the spread of automation and new supply chain management paradigms, logistics remains dependent on a rather specific set of skills and competencies, whether for managerial, administrative, or blue-collar jobs, such as trucking or warehousing. This dependence implies that the logistical performance of businesses, industries, and nation states is strongly influenced by the quantity and quality of the workforce. Insufficient resources of a competent and properly trained workforce in logistics adversely affect the quality of service, reduce productivity in sectors dependent on logistics, and ultimately reduce trade competitiveness. While other interventions that affect logistics performance—such as international infrastructures, trade corridors, regulations, and services—have already been reviewed extensively, this report is the first to cover the contributions of human resources and explore how to develop skills and improve competencies, especially in developing countries. The study proposes a framework for the skills needed according to the logistics activity (such as transportation or warehousing) or the type and level of responsibility. Based on several sources, including recent surveys carried out by the World Bank and the Kühne Logistics University, the report uncovers where the skills constraints are according to the type of job or countries. Findings include that logistics is an industry struggling to hire skilled workers, although with differences between developed countries (where trucker shortages are more acute) and developing economies (where managerial shortages are more widespread). Typically, blue-collar logistics jobs have lower status and lower pay than blue-collar jobs in other industries; they are thus less attractive for skilled workers. In developing countries with a potentially available workforce, lack of vocational preparation for careers in logistics means that less-skilled workers are not easily re-skilled. Logistics tasks at the upper end of the occupational hierarchy and those with high information technology content often require an upskilling of employees to keep pace with new technology. Yet the problem is not confined to recruitment. The surveys point to limited resources, money, and staff time allocated to training, especially in developing countries. Realizing the promise of quality jobs from the growth of logistics worldwide requires a coordinated effort by logistics companies, professional associations, training providers, and policy makers. Through a combination of facilitation, regulation, advice, financial instruments, and land use planning, governments can exert significant influence.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Connecting to Compete 2016: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy--The Logistics Performance Index and Its Indicators
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-06-28) Saslavsky, Daniel; Arvis, Jean-François; Ojala, Lauri; Shepherd, Ben; Raj, Anasuya; Busch, Christina; Naula, Tapio
    The LPI has provided valuable information for policy makers, traders, and other stakeholders, including researchers and academics, on the role of logistics for growth and the policies needed to support logistics in areas such as infrastructure planning, service provision, and crossborder trade and transport facilitation. The results of Connecting to Compete 2016 point to Germany as the best performing country, with an LPI score of 4.23, and Syria as the lowest, with a score of 1.60 (equivalent to 19 percent of Germany’s score on a scale from 1 to 5). The converging trend between the top and worst performers that appeared in the previous LPI surveys (2007, 2010, 2012, and 2014) seems to have slightly reversed. The average scores in each quintile reveal that the gap between the top 2 quintiles and the countries at the bottom in performance is widening again.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Connecting to Compete 2014 : Trade Logistics in the Global Economy--The Logistics Performance Index and Its Indicators
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014) Saslavsky, Daniel; Arvis, Jean-François; Ojala, Lauri; Shepherd, Ben; Raj, Anasuya; Busch, Christina
    Improving logistics performance is at the core of the economic growth and competitiveness agenda. Policymakers globally recognize the logistics sector as one of their key pillars for development. Trade powerhouses in Europe like the Netherlands or in developing countries like Vietnam or Indonesia see seamless and sustainable logistics as an engine of growth and of integration with global value chains. Indeed, inefficient logistics raises the costs of trading and reduces the potential for global integration. This is a hefty burden for developing countries trying to compete in the global marketplace. Since 2007, the Logistics Performance