Person:
Brenton, Paul
Author Name Variants
Fields of Specialization
INTERNATIONAL TRADE,
CLIMATE CHANGE,
CARBON ACCOUNTING,
TRADE POLICY
Degrees
External Links
Departments
Trade and Regional Integration
Externally Hosted Work
Contact Information
Last updated
January 31, 2023
Biography
Paul Brenton is Lead Economist in the Trade and Regional Integration Unit of the World Bank. He focuses on analytical and operation work on trade and regional integration. He has led the implementation of World Bank lending operations such as the Great Lakes Trade Facilitation Project in DR Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. He co-authored the joint World Bank-WTO report on The Role of Trade in Ending Poverty and has managed a range of policy-oriented volumes including: De-Fragmenting Africa: Deepening Regional Trade Integration in Goods and Services; Africa can Help Feed Africa; and Carbon Footprints and Food Systems: Do Current Accounting Methodologies Disadvantage Developing Countries? Paul joined the World Bank in 2002, having previously been Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Trade Policy Unit at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels. Before that, he lectured in economics at the University of Birmingham in the UK. He has a PhD in Economics from the University of East Anglia. A collection of Paul’s work has been published in the volume International Trade, Distribution and Development: Empirical Studies of Trade Policies (https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/9172 ).
Publication Search Results
1 - 2 of 2
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Publication
Streamlining Technical Measured on Medical Products to Combat COVID-19
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-05-21)The urgency of effective responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and the reliance of many low-income countries on imports of medical products, requires new approaches to regulation of these products. The challenge will be particularly acute for the new tests to identify infection, drugs to alleviate symptoms and machines to aid recovery as well as vaccines that are all expected to be developed in the coming months. Increased transparency, information sharing and greater cooperation among agencies responsible for the approval and inspection of medical goods around the world can help officials in low-income countries implement their mandate more effectively while maximizing efficient access to these commodities. Responsible agencies should focus on implementing technical regulations to protect health and safety, including interception of counterfeit and substandard products, and avoid wasting resources and creating delays by maintaining procedural practices that may be better addressed through alternative risk management strategies or seeking to regulate quality issues, which are best left to the market. Where there is a need to rapidly approve, test and inspect new goods or varieties that have not previously been imported, such as new equipment and medicines, the adoption of mutual recognition and/or equivalence can provide effective mechanisms to avoid regulatory delays while maintaining high levels of safety. -
Publication
Trade Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis in Africa
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-04-06)Countries in Africa should strive to maintain trade flows during the crisis to secure access to medical goods and services, and food and other essential items such as farm inputs. This requires keeping borders open to the largest extent possible and avoiding measures such as export bans or taxes. Countries should take action to reduce taxes and duties on trade, to streamline trade procedures and to support transport and logistics services in maintaining cross-border and international value chains. By joining together, countries in Africa can implement coordinated trade measures that result in better responses to the crisis. Joint actions include bilateral cooperation on border management, joint information campaigns, coordinated purchasing of medical equipment, partnering on repurposing production to produce medical goods, and management of health specialists to deal with emerging hotspots on the continent. Development partners should support coordinated actions by regional institutions through analysis, technical assistance and perhaps operational projects. Identifying the appropriate level (sub-national, national, regional, continental) for interventions and the most effective institutions, in terms of relevance and capacity, to manage coordinated actions will be essential.