Publication: Deepening Integration in Border Regions within CAREC : The Asiaregio
Loading...
Date
2009-05-13
ISSN
Published
2009-05-13
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
The central endeavor of Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) is the deepening of cooperation between its members across the entire range of development activities. Recent papers prepared by the World Bank for consideration of the ministers and officials of CAREC countries have focused on fostering cooperation in border trade and in supporting key institutions that underpin border trade such as bazaars in central Asia. But cooperation in border areas goes much deeper than trade alone. Economic development activities related to trade such as tourism, retail, business and trade facilitation as well as cooperation in public services (such as shared health facilities, other infrastructure services such as small-scale irrigation), optimal use of the environment, cultural and sports activities often have a significant cross-border character. Therefore, cross-border arrangements that support such activities and realize economies of scale in the provision of services can yield high dividends; and the key public policy question is how to best make such arrangements flourish. This paper presents initial thinking on this question, responding to the request made by CAREC representatives. It is based on discussions with officials in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in 2008-09 and on an examination of legal acts pertaining to cross-border cooperation.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2009. Deepening Integration in Border Regions within CAREC : The Asiaregio. © http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18608 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Borderless Bazaars and Regional Integration in Central Asia : Emerging Patterns of Trade and Cross-Border Cooperation(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2012-05-25)Local populations' economic opportunities can be enhanced through special arrangements governing movement of people and goods in neighboring areas. For instance, in the Tajikistan-Uzbekistan border-crossing points (BCPs), preferential treatment accorded to residents in contiguous regions varies from one BCP to another, even within one borderline, restricting the distance allowed for travel into the territory of another country to the closest large city or marketplace. When governments impose restrictions on the movements of individuals, vehicles, or goods or close BCPs or bazaars, they may do so on public policy grounds. Security is often cited as a factor for imposing controls, as is prevention of contraband trade. Such government imposed obstacles are a blunt and expensive instrument to attain such public policy aims. The income and welfare costs levied on poor communities of such public policies may be disproportionate to achieve stated public policy goals. Instead, BCPs and bazaars could be opened but made subject to strict and effective policing, ideally using risk-based criteria; similarly, risk-based surveillance or vehicle searches could take the place of an outright ban. Moreover, a government may find that the security benefits of stronger community ties across borders may be considerable; after all, in conditions of growing trade that obviously contributes to the prosperity of a border community, all parties have a stake in suppressing criminal behavior and public disorder and in promoting orderly conditions that minimize the likelihood of the need for security services to intervene. In summary, support for border trade is a win-win strategy for any pair of countries. Government-imposed restrictions may constrict trade and raise its cost, but they do not necessarily eliminate local trade, especially among countries with established cultural, ethnic, and economic ties, which is the case of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia. Such restrictions raise transaction costs and incentivize smuggling. They greatly reduce the beneficial impact on income and employment that can arise from border trade, leading to large welfare losses for communities. The most significant effect of growth in border trade is likely to be poverty reduction in communities in contiguous regions.Publication Regional Trade Agreements(2010-05-01)This paper reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on regionalism. The formation of regional trade agreements has been, by far, the most popular form of reciprocal trade liberalization in the past 15 years. The discriminatory character of these agreements has raised three main concerns: that trade diversion would be rampant, because special interest groups would induce governments to form the most distortionary agreements; that broader external trade liberalization would stall or reverse; and that multilateralism could be undermined. Theoretically, all of these concerns are legitimate, although there are also several theoretical arguments that oppose them. Empirically, neither widespread trade diversion nor stalled external liberalization has materialized, while the undermining of multilateralism has not been properly tested. There are also several aspects of regionalism that have received too little attention from researchers, but which are central to understanding its causes and consequences.Publication A Preliminary Analysis of the Impact of a Ukraine-EU Free Trade Agreement on Agriculture(2010-04-01)Agriculture including food products is of particular interest for Ukraine. However, in free trade agreements involving the European Union, agriculture is always given special treatment and subject to less and slower liberalization than other sectors. This paper employs the standard Global Trade Analysis Project model in order to assess how World Trade Organization accession affects agriculture in Ukraine, and how potential bilateral tariff cuts may interact with potential productivity gains within Ukrainian agriculture. The results indicate that, due to trade liberalization, Ukraine can expect gains from a more efficient allocation of its resources in line with comparative advantage, leading to an increase of production and exports of wheat, other grains, and oilseeds, but also of several processed food products that benefit from less expensive intermediate inputs. However, Ukraine's exports are concentrated on a small number of destinations, especially Russia and some other Former Soviet Union countries because they fail to meet quality standards elsewhere. When Ukrainian production of these products increases due to increased allocative efficiency, exports to Russia increase further and prices there fall, generating negative terms of trade effects that largely offset the allocative gains. Ukrainian imports of agricultural products increase as well, partly because Ukrainian consumers switch to higher quality imported goods even though domestic production increases. Regarding free trade agreement negotiations with the European Union, these results highlight for Ukraine the fact that improved agricultural productivity will help to get most out of improved market access. However, the results also highlight for Ukraine the great importance of adopting internationally accepted quality standards in order to diversify its export structure.Publication Pacific Islands - Regional Economic Report : Embarking on a Global Voyage - Trade Liberalization and Complementary Reforms in the Pacific(Washington, DC, 2002-09-10)This regional economic report, evaluates the strategy that the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) have chosen towards liberalizing their economies, and, analyzes as well the interaction of trade liberalization with complementary reforms in taxation, and the public sector. As a consequence of multilateral and unilateral efforts towards freer trade worldwide, preferential access granted to PICs in developed country markets, is being eroded. In particular, the report looks at the Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA), viewed as a "stepping stone" to become more competitive in global markets. It is important to note that the formation of a preferential trade area, as opposed to multilateral or unilateral liberalization, is perceived as trade liberalization, but in a gradual process, to limit disruptions, and adjustments to their economies. However, in order for this "stepping stone" not to become a "stumbling block," the liberalization strategy needs to be actively pursued, through sound policy framework, and trade facilitation. Furthermore, the small un-diversified economies of, and very little trade among PICs suggests very small benefits from PICTA; yet, trade diversion which favors the more industrially advanced members is likely to develop. Nonetheless, the formulation of a free trade agreement between the PICs, and Australia and New Zealand, negotiations over reciprocal free trade agreements with the European Union in 2002 as envisaged, and provision of a free trade association by some PICs with the United States, inevitably will require the widening of preferential trading arrangements beyond PICTA, though the timing is uncertain. It is suggested that the pace and composition of reforms - in particular, more complete trade liberalization, and public sector reform - will need to be calibrated to the progress on efforts to enhance the business environment, and increase labor, and capital mobility.Publication Afghanistan Diagnostics Trade Integration Study(Washington, DC, 2012-11)Trade enables countries to import ideas and technologies, realize comparative advantages and economies of scale, and foster competition and innovation, which in turn increases productivity and achieves higher sustainable employment and economic growth. Countries open to international trade tend to provide more opportunities to their people, and grow faster. Afghanistan could derive far more benefit from its international trade opportunities than it does at present. This Diagnostics Trade Integration Study (DTIS) report is intended to identify concrete policy actions in three areas of endeavor: lowering the transaction costs of trade, increasing Afghanistan's competitiveness in world markets, and providing an analytical foundation for Afghanistan's national trade strategy. The study examines how to do this, looking not only at trade performance and policy, but also at three sectors with great export potential: agriculture, gemstones and carpets, as well as the investment climate, customs as a driver of trade facilitation, and on promoting infrastructure services. All five chapters in this report provide a detailed and comprehensive analysis of trade issues intended to reduce the transaction costs of trade. Growth in Afghanistan has been strong and volatile because of its heavy reliance on agriculture. Now it faces a transition: prospects of a drawdown of international military forces and a decline in civilian aid by 2014. Security issues and political instability could undermine Afghanistan's Transition. Such threats could harm not only economic growth, but deterioration would repel private-sector investment.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.Publication The Journey Ahead(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31)The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.