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Connecting to Compete 2018 : Trade Logistics in the Global Economy
Authors: --- --- --- --- --- et al.
Year: 2018 Publisher: Washington, D.C. : The World Bank,

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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.


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Transport Costs and Prices in Lao PDR : Unlocking the Potential of an Idle Fleet.
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Year: 2018 Publisher: Washington, D.C. : The World Bank,

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The cost of transport in Lao PDR is said to be higher than in neighboring countries, affectingthe competitiveness of producers and shippers alike. However, the picture appears to be morenuanced. Since there has not been much hard evidence to support this claim, this paper fills thegap by empirically investigating transport costs and prices for domestic routes in Lao PDR andidentifies the key drivers behind transport costs. The transport sector in Lao PDR can be describedas thin, consisting of a dozen large players (defined as having a fleet size of more than 50 trucks) and many small firms (companies with less than 5 trucks or owner-operators). Many of the micro firms work in the informal sector. Productivity levels in the Lao transport sector are generally very low. Across the study sample, the average annual distance driven per truck is only 55,000 km which is very low, though comparable to other landlocked, developing countries. Transport costs are on average LAK 489 per ton-km (equivalent to USD 0.06 per ton-km). A large majority of transport companies operate within a band of LAK 230 (USD 0.028) and LAK 575 (USD 0.07), of which variable costs make up 62 percent. Smaller firms tend to be less efficient than larger ones in spite of their much smaller overhead costs. The 25 percent cost advantage per ton-km of informal firms is offset by the economies of scale of larger firms that operate newer and larger trucks.


Book
Facilitating with ease! : core skills for facilitators, team leaders and members, managers, consultants, and trainers
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ISBN: 1119434270 1119434289 9781119434276 9781119434283 Year: 2018 Publisher: Hoboken, New Jersey : Wiley,

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The definitive guide to running productive meetings Facilitating With Ease! has become the go-to handbook for those who lead meetings, training, and other business gatherings. Packed with information, effective practices, and invaluable advice, this book is the comprehensive handbook for anyone who believes meetings should be productive, relevant, and as short as possible. Dozens of exercises, surveys, and checklists will help transform anyone into a skilled facilitator, and clear, actionable guidance makes implementation a breeze. This new fourth edition includes a new chapter on questioning, plus new material surrounding diversity, globalization, technology, feedback, distance teams, difficult executives, diverse locations, personal growth, meeting management, and much more. With in-depth, expert guidance from planning to closing, this book provides facilitators with an invaluable resource for learning or training. Before you run another meeting, discover the practices, processes, and techniques that turn you from a referee to an effective facilitator. This book provides a wealth of tools and insights that you can put into action today. Run productive meetings that get real results Keep discussions on track and facilitate the exchange of ideas Resolve conflict and deal with difficult individuals Train leaders and others to facilitate effectively Poorly-run meetings are an interruption in the day, and accomplish little other than putting everyone behind in their “real” work. On the other hand, a meeting run by an effective facilitator makes everyone’s job easier; decisions get made, strategies are improved, answers are given, and new ideas bubble to the surface. A productive meeting makes everyone happy, and results in real benefits that spread throughout the organization. Facilitating With Ease! is the skill-building guide to running great meetings with confidence and results.


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Trade facilitation in the multilateral trading system : genesis, course and accord
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ISBN: 0429886756 0429468148 0429886748 Year: 2018 Publisher: Boca Raton, FL : Routledge, an imprint of Taylor and Francis,

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Negotiations on trade facilitation wereconcluded at the WTO 9th Ministerial Conference in 2013, and the Agreements on Trade Facilitation (TFA), therefore, became the first fully multilateral agreement inWTO history.Since then, trade facilitation has been in the limelight on the stage of the world trading system. During recent years, the TFA has been consistently on the agenda of the summits of G20, G7, and APEC.The Agreementhas come into force and shall be implemented on a global scale. As a result, the WTO members shall be prepared to translate the Agreement into their domestic legislation, which will involve a series of reforms in trade laws and policies.There are extensive voices demanding a comprehensive expatiation on trade facilitation and the TFA. It is essential to systematically delve into the genesis of trade facilitation, revisit the course where the TFA came into being, and analyse the well-turned legalese of the TFA. This book meets this demand.This book is path-breaking in these aspects: it expounds on the rationales for trade facilitation and the significance of constituting an international accord on trade facilitation; it restores the one-century track of the international community’s talks on trade facilitation, from the times of the League of Nations to the WTO era; it reveals how the WTO negotiating mechanisms enabled the TFA to be nailed down, which would be enlightening for trade diplomats engaged in other WTO negotiations; and it provides an in-depth commentary on the TFA articles, which will help stakeholders more accurately understand and implement the Agreement.This book will be especially valuable for government officials and policy-makers, trade practitioners, lawyers, advisers, and scholars interested in international economic law, WTO law, international trade, international relations, and international development studies.


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10 Steps to Successful Facilitation
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ISBN: 1949036294 9781949036299 9781949036282 1949036286 Year: 2018 Publisher: Alexandria, VA : ATD Press,

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Facilitate Groups That Deliver Results Every professional businessperson needs a complete portfolio of skills, yet one area is often taken for granted: the art of facilitation. This book takes the guesswork out of this essential skill and gives you a step-by-step process for becoming an accomplished and successful facilitator. As a facilitator, your job is to remain neutral while helping others achieve common objectives. To do this, you need tools and techniques to deal with a wide variety of group meeting situations. In 10 Steps to Successful Facilitation, you’ll find everything you need, including A wealth of methods and ideas to engage participants Strategies for handling conflict and creating a collaborative climate Tips for using media and technology effectively This second edition features updates to each step, reorganized to align with the problems facilitators face today, such as the increasing prevalence of virtual meetings. You’ll have the help you need to act as a catalyst for progress, enabling others to focus on key issues, arrive at appropriate solutions, and build sustainable agreements. With this book as your roadmap, you can be thoroughly prepared for the role of facilitator, ready to cultivate cooperation and understanding among individuals and assist your organization in developing shared solutions to its challenges.


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Supporting Lesotho's Economic Diversification and Trade Integration : Structural Transformation through Greater Export Competitiveness
Authors: --- --- ---
Year: 2018 Publisher: Washington, D.C. : The World Bank,

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This report provides a multifaceted diagnostic overview of Lesotho's export competitiveness, including an analysis of the macroeconomic environment in which exporters and importers operate in Lesotho; level, growth, composition, and market share performance of Lesotho's exports; the evolution of FDI inflows and their sectoral composition; the diversification of products and markets, as well as the quality and sophistication of Lesotho's exports. It builds on this with CGE analysis of potential impacts based on specific trade-related scenarios as well as diagnostic tools to facilitate the analysis of global and regional value chain participation and integration. The report then formulates several recommendations that could enhance export competitiveness, deepen Lesotho's integration in global and regional value chains in goods and services and strengthen the country's ability to respond to changing external environment.


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Trade Facilitation Challenges and Reform Priorities for Maximizing the Impact of the Belt and Road Initiative
Authors: --- --- ---
Year: 2018 Publisher: Washington, D.C. : The World Bank,

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This study examines the relevance of trade facilitation reforms in maximizing the economic impactof infrastructure connectivity investments through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It providesan overview of trade facilitation performance in BRI economies, with a focus on those countriesinvolved in six key land corridors. This overview is based on three categories of data: international indicators for trade facilitation performance, notably Doing Business, the Logistics Performance Index, the Enabling Trade Index, and the OECD Trade Facilitation Indicators; publicly-available literature and analysis on the BRI corridors; and analysis conducted through World Bank projects involving BRI economies. A key finding is that, in a global context, trade facilitation along the BRI corridors is weak, with performance for most corridors below global averages according to most indicators. There is also wide variation in performance between countries along each corridor, providing a significant barrier to the efficient utilization of the corridors for predictable, timely cross-border transportation of goods. Based on the review of corridor performance, the study recommends priority trade facilitation reforms for the BRI economies, as well as recommendations on the implementation of these reforms, based on international experience.


Book
Export Diversification through Bonded Warehouse Reforms
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Year: 2018 Publisher: Washington, D.C. : The World Bank,

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Benefits and rules of bonded manufacturing are often discretionary. Bonded manufacturing is a form of temporary admission, which is equivalent to suspended import duty. The term used varies from country to country: Special Bonded Warehouses (SBW) in Bangladesh, Export Only Units in India, Bonded Manufacturing Warehouses in Malaysia, et cetera The rules under which they operate also vary substantially from country to country and have changed over time. Bonded manufacturing status allows firms to bring imported goods into their warehouses without paying import duty, use the goods in their production, and export the output. The firms can usually also import machinery and replacement parts and other supplies duty-free, and buy from domestic suppliers free of domestic excise, sales and other taxes. The participating factories operate under the supervision of Customs authorities, who check the import and export containers going to and from the bonded factory, or, in some cases, rely on spot checks of the factory's inventories. The benefits and rules are at the discretion of the governments. The success of the bonded warehouse facility is not equitable and inclusive in Bangladesh. Bangladesh's customs bonded warehouse regime permits licensed manufacturers to import duty-free parts and materials required for their export production purposes. The regime is most heavily used by RMG producers and to a lesser extent by leather goods, footwear, and shipbuilding industries. Enterprises can use the Special Bonded Warehouse (SBW) facility for importing all inputs duty-free along with imports of inputs under back-to-back LC (letters of credit), a facility to pay for imported inputs from export proceeds. This policy works to negate both the effect of relatively high import tariffs and the difficulty in claiming duty drawback on the export of duty-paid imported raw materials. It ensures competitive pricing by exporters for their manufactured goods as they compete in regional (and global) markets. However, these schemes allowing the duty-free import of inputs are not available equally to other sector exporters, who must pay duties on imported inputs upfront and rely on a dysfunctional duty drawback system that involves transaction costs. Therefore, for non-RMG sectors, a tariff on imports becomes a tax on exports on two counts: (a) the higher cost of imported inputs and (b) the higher tariff-induced profitability of Import Substitute Industries that divert resources away from exports.


Book
Pakistan : Unlocking Private Sector Growth through Increased Trade and Investment Competitiveness
Authors: ---
Year: 2018 Publisher: Washington, D.C. : The World Bank,

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Evidence suggests that Pakistan has the potential for much faster and more diversified economic growth. Energizing trade can help Pakistan to realize its growth potential. Pakistan's inward-oriented trade policies have had the effect of stalling Pakistan's integration into regional and global value chains (GVCs). Pakistan's failure to reform its trade policy to better foster export competitiveness can be attributed in part to institutional fragmentation within the government. This fragmentation has resulted in different agencies sometimes working at cross purposes. Efforts to reduce tariffs have been offset by the introduction of alternative protection instruments such as regulatory duties (RDs) and firm-specific special regulatory orders (SROs). In addition to tariffs, RDs and SROs, other obstacles to global integration include a heavy regulatory burden and perceived risks to investing and operating in the country, which have hurt efforts to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). Growth and competitiveness are also inhibited by inefficient trade facilitation policies, weak logistics services, and underdeveloped infrastructure. These constraints have made it difficult for Pakistan to fully exploit its proximity to China, a trade powerhouse, with which it has a free trade agreement. All in all, the anti-export bias of Pakistan's trade policy has made it more difficult for outward-looking firms to grow by accessing global markets. A series of actions in the areas of trade policy, trade facilitation and connectivity, and institutional coordination could potentially stimulate Pakistan's growth through increased trade and investment competitiveness. Integration with other countries in the region and neighboring regions, particularly East Asia, will allow Pakistan to diversify both its product basket and markets. Finally, full normalization of trade relations with India would allow Pakistan to benefit from India's fast growth and promote complementarities, including valuechain activities and investment potential.


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Taking Stock, December 2018 : An Update on Vietnam's Recent Economic Developments.
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Year: 2018 Publisher: Washington, D.C. : The World Bank,

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The external environment has become less sanguine and more uncertain. Global real GDP growth is forecast to moderate from a projected 3 percent in 2018 to 2.9 percent in 2019 and 2.8 percent in 2020, as economic slack dissipates, central banks unwind policy accommodation, and global trade and investment growth weaken with deepening trade war tensions among major economies. Following a recent peak of 6.6 percent in 2017, GDP growth in emerging East Asia and the Pacific is forecast to ease from a projected 6.3 percent in 2018 to 6.0 percent in both 2019 and 2020, largely tied to a falloff in exports amid rising trade tensions and a structural slowdown in China.

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