Publication: Bazaars and Trade Integration in CAREC Countries
Loading...
Published
2009-05-13
ISSN
Date
2014-06-10
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This paper based on survey work as well as an examination of trade statistics is the first to have studied the economic and trade effects of bazaars in central Asia in a detailed way. It presents a wealth of information and statistics relating to critical income generating activities and seeks to uncover the vital role played by bazaars in supporting economic growth. The analysis conducted in this work is of policy interest: rather than treating bazaars as unorganized and undesirable features of a modern market economy, national authorities should foster the development of bazaars in view of the growth, employment-generation and poverty-fighting characteristics of the operations of bazaars. Indeed, without well-functioning bazaars, the cost of trade would be considerably greater, the prices of goods higher and availability more restricted, trade volumes considerably lower, and the powerful welfare-raising effects from re-exports (in which bazaars play a critical role) as well as trade itself would be greatly muted. The populations would be much the poorer. The remainder of this report is organized as follows: section one provides birds' eye-view of networks of bazaars: their structure and weight in local economies as well as their involvement in domestic and foreign trade activities. Section two provides estimates of trade mediated by bazaars based on both mirror, i.e., Central Asian's (CA's) trading partners' trade statistics and national statistics of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Section three presents conclusions and outlines policy implications of empirical findings.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2009. Bazaars and Trade Integration in CAREC Countries. © http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18609 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Albania - Building Competitiveness : Sector Case Studies - Apparel and Footwear, Tourism, and Mining(World Bank, 2009-10-01)Commitment to structural reforms and to economic stabilization has enabled high rates of gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Albania since the start of transition, and consequent reductions in poverty. The crisis caused by the collapse of 'pyramid' investment schemes in late 1996 and early 1997, the Government began to implement a stabilization and reform program which has resulted in rates of economic growth averaging more than five percent annually between 1998 and 2007. Strong growth has in turn made possible a 6.8 percentage point decline in the poverty headcount, a higher drop than in most countries in the (Eastern) Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region. These achievements have been underpinned by prudent fiscal and monetary policies. Budget deficits have been kept under control, declining from an average of around 10 percent of GDP in the late 1990s to less than 4 percent since 2005. In parallel, a monetary targeting regime has ensured price stability, with inflation remaining at around 3 percent in recent years. This report discusses how Albania can improve its long term competitiveness and growth by facilitating firms' ability to employ technology and skills and by closing the gap between formal regulations and actual enforcement. The second chapter sets the stage by presenting the macroeconomic setting, as well as key structural features of the Albanian economy. The third chapter provides an overview of investment climate constraints on firm performance. The crucial pillars of the investment climate that affect firm performance that is to say: (i) access to and adoption of knowledge by Albanian firms, and (ii) the gap between formal and informal regulation are treated in chapters four and five respectively. Chapter six concludes and summarizes policy recommendations.Publication The Role of Trade Costs in Global Production Networks : Evidence from China’s Processing Trade Regime(2010-12-01)In a seminal contribution, Yi (2003) has shown that vertically specialized trade should be more sensitive to changes in trade costs than regular trade. Yet empirical evidence of this remains remarkably scant. This paper uses data from China's processing trade regime to analyze the role of trade costs on trade within global production networks (GPNs). Under this regime, firms are granted duty exemptions on imported inputs as long as they are used solely for export purposes. As a result, the data provide information on trade between three sequential nodes of a global supply chain: the location of input production, the location of processing (in China) and the location of further consumption. This makes it possible to examine the role of both trade costs related to the import of inputs (upstream trade costs) and trade costs related to the export of final goods (downstream trade costs) on intra-GPN trade. The authors show that intra-GPN trade differs from regular trade in that it not only depends on downstream trade costs, but also on upstream trade costs and the interaction of both. Moreover, intra-GPN trade is more sensitive to oil price movements and business cycle movements than regular trade. Finally, the paper analyzes three channels through which intra-GPN trade have amplified the trade collapse during the recent Global Recession.Publication Secondary School Madrasas in Bangladesh : Incidence, Quality, and Implications for Reform(Washington, DC, 2010-03)This report presents findings from the first ever comprehensive survey to document the incidence and quality of secondary madrasas in Bangladesh. Analysis also draws upon other publicly available administrative and household level datasets. Currently the authors have very little information on school quality in general due to no national learning assessment system and because schools from different streams are tested under different Boards. Thus it is always important to examine the quality of aided madrasas relative to aided secular schools. The report highlights new challenges: while gender equality in access has been achieved in both schools and madrasas, girls remain systematically disadvantaged in terms of learning outcomes. The female learning penalty remain is particularly pronounced in case of madrasas. Overall, the quality of mathematics and English learning is low in madrasas, but performance of students of mainstream schools is also unsatisfactory average quality remains poor across the range of rural institutions. Overall, this report represents an empirically grounded investigation into the hitherto undocumented changes Bangladesh has witnessed in the secondary madrasa school sector in the past two decades. Based on their analysis, the authors suggest a range of policy initiatives that cover the entire secondary education sector, not just the madarasa education. Given the wealth of data collected on secondary institutions and households during the survey, this report only represents the first of a series of rigorous empirical research and analysis which will be undertaken. It is hoped that the report will provide an impetus towards an evidence-based policy debate on madrasas and other critical issues in the education sector.Publication Pakistan : NWFP Growth Policy Note, Volume 2. Annexes(Washington, DC, 2009-06)The Government of the North West Frontier Province requested, in the spring of 2007, an economic growth policy note as a follow up to the Provincial Economic Report of December 2005. The provincial government was in particular interested in analysis at the industry level of key industries with high growth potential, and a joint decision was quickly made to study the value chain of three industries; horticulture, furniture, and gems and jewelry. In addition to studying constraints to growth at the sector level, the intent has been to also have an in-depth analysis of the provincial investment climate in a chapter on crosscutting constraints. This would draw on data from the survey that would form the basis for the Second Investment Climate Assessment to be produced by the World Bank. The data from this survey has been delayed, so the crosscutting section of this policy note with the investment climate analysis will be presented in a follow up version of the policy note in the last quarter of 2008. Volume 1 is the main report, and Volume 2 consists of annexes.Publication CGE Modeling of Market Access in Services(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-06)This paper examines how the applied multi-sector computable general equilibrium (CGE) literature has moved into quantication of the impacts of greater market access for services. This includes discussion of multi-sector linkages to the service sector, as well both measuring barriers to trade and investment (generally with a mix of firm surveys, price comparisons, and econometrics), and how changes in these barriers, however measured, have been implemented in the CGE literature. Three challenges are highlighted. The first is identification of how trade in services takes place and how market access is therefore affected by policy. The second is to find data sufficiently robust for modeling purposes. The third, linked to the data problem, is to quantify the barriers to be examined. Significant progress has been made in modeling foreign direct investment and linking this to productivity, which turns out to be important. The paper also provides an example of modeling productivity linkages to openness and domestic regulation, with an applied CGE model of Italy. This illustrates cross-sector linkages and the integration of economic data and policy measures to define service sector experiments. Priorities for future research include better modeling of market structure, the linkages between sectors and the complementarities between different modes of supplying services.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Ending Poverty in South Asia : Ideas That Work(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007)The case studies in this book were developed as part of a year-long learning process initiated by the World Bank in 2003-4 to examine large scale poverty reduction programs in a wide range of developing countries around the world. This volume presents 12 of the case studies from South Asia. . The last two decades saw substantial change in the countries of South Asia. All countries of the subcontinent experienced more rapid growth than in the earlier decades and also saw a definite reduction in the incidence of poverty, resulting in the improvement of the lives of hundreds of millions of poor people. One common element was the adoption of broad based economic reforms involving rethinking of earlier approaches to development. The reforms in South Asia were notable in that they were homegrown, gradual, and accompanied by continual redesign and fine tuning. Individuals can make a difference in fighting poverty when ways are found to institutionalize creative ideas and apply them on a scale extending beyond pilot projects. This book recounts 12 such cases from a range of countries and sectors in the South Asia region, with a focus on how these programmes scaled up and on the potential for applying lessons in other settings. These case studies do not offer a blueprint or model for poverty reduction; there is no single model. Nor do they cover every issue that is important. But they suggest the range of ideas that can be successful and the underlying principles that cut across these diverse initiatives. All the programmes tap the imagination and ingenuity of the South Asian people- in government offices, in civil society organizations, in the private sector, and in the villages and urban neighborhoods. All seek to empower poor people to access the economic opportunities and basic services so necessary to human dignity. The lessons are complex, and applying them will undoubtedly require redesign and fine-tuning to fit the initiatives to the local context. What is important, however, is that the experience of the last two decades has shown that reforms and scaling-up innovations can work in South Asia-and if these examples can be strengthened and expanded in the coming decades, the dreams of a subcontinent free of poverty may be realized.Publication Sanitation and Externalities : Evidence from Early Childhood Health in Rural India(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-01)This paper estimates two sources of benefits related to sanitation infrastructure access on early childhood health: a direct benefit a household receives when moving from open to fixed-point defecation or from unimproved sanitation to improved sanitation, and an external benefit (externality) produced by the neighborhood's access to sanitation infrastructure. The paper uses a sample of children under 48 months in rural areas of India from the Third Round of District Level Household Survey 2007-08 and finds evidence of positive and significant direct benefits and concave positive external effects for both improved sanitation and fixed-point defecation. There is a 47 percent reduction in diarrhea prevalence between children living in a household without access to improved sanitation in a village without coverage of improved sanitation and children living in a household with access to improved sanitation in a village with complete coverage. One-fourth of this benefit is due to the direct benefit leaving the rest to external gains. Finally, all the benefits from eliminating open defecation come from improved sanitation and not other sanitation solutions.Publication A Sourcebook of HIV/AIDS Prevention Programs : Education Sector-Wide Approaches(2008)This sourcebook aims to support efforts by countries to strengthen the role of the education sector in the prevention of HIV/AIDS. It was developed in response to numerous requests for a simple forum to help countries share their practical experiences of designing and implementing programs that are targeted at school-age children. The sourcebook seeks to fulfill this role by providing concise summaries of programs, using a standard format that highlights the main elements of the programs and makes it easier to compare the programs with each other. All the programs are summarized in section two, which allows those seeking advice on program design to browse through the various options and identify those that might reward further study. The full program reports for each country are given in section three. Each program report follows the same format, so the reader can more easily find those aspects of the program that are of specific interest. The consistent design also allows for ease of comparison between programs. There are four main sections within each full program report. Part A gives an overview of the program, describing the rationale, the aims and objectives, the target audience, the components, and the main approaches. Part B describes the process from the initial needs assessment, through the development of materials and training, to the practical details of implementation. There is an attempt made to estimate unit costs, but these should be seen only as indicative, because the number of beneficiaries is often uncertain and because costs in newly implemented programs may be artificially high. Part C provides an assessment and comprises lessons learned. This section begins with comments from implementers on the challenges faced and the lessons learned, followed in a few cases by a description of any formal evaluation of the program. The final part explores the extent to which the program complies with a set of benchmarks that, on the basis of expert opinion, contribute to an effective program. Part D gives details of the organizations involved with the program, including their contact information. It lists all the materials that are available to the reader, along with an order code number.Publication Iran Economic Monitor, Spring/Summer 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-08-22)The Iran Economic Monitor (IEM) provides an update on key economic developments and policies. It examines these economic developments and policies in a longer-term and global context and assesses their implications for the outlook for thecountry. The IEM’s coverage ranges from the macroeconomy to financial markets to indicators of human welfare and development. Iran’s economy continued to grow moderately for the third consecutive year in 2022/23, albeit at a slower pace than in the previous year. Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3.8 percent in 2022/23, driven by expansions in services and manufacturing. Despite sanctions, the oil sector also expanded, aided by the tighter global oil markets. Favorable weather conditions helped the agriculture sector to marginally grow after the contractionsin previous years. On the expenditure side, private consumption was the main driver of GDP growth. Government consumption contracted to contain the budget deficit following a sharp expansionary policy in 2021/22. Meanwhile, exports and importsboth increased, and strong investment in machinery drove investments up, while construction investment marginally improved. However, the economy continuesto face growth constraints notably related to the economic sanctions, restricted access to external markets and to the latest technology, and much needed foreign investment. The Special Focus of the report highlights the scarring effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, documenting the marked deterioration in labor market outcomes. Despite sizeable government interventions to sustain the economy, in the first year of the pandemic (2021/22), approximately 1 million Jobs were lost, and labor force participation contracted by 3 percentage points. Iranian women were the most affected: two out of three jobs lost between 2019/20 and 2020/21 were previously held by women. The gendered impact of the crisis contributed to widening Iranian’s women disadvantage in the labor market. Most importantly, the gains in femalelabor force participation slowly accumulated since 2011 vanished. Consistent with what is observed in other countries, women with young children were the most affected by the crisis. The combined effect of school closures and unequal intra-household allocation of care responsibilities, associated with prevailing gender norms, pushed Iranian women with children out of the labor force. Whether or not these trends will be reversed as the management of the COVID-19 pandemic is normalized and the economy recovers from the crisis remains an important policy question.Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.