With ten years of the 2030 Agenda to go, and with the fifth Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries starting in 2021, there is a need to re-evaluate the system of international support for LDCs. Some LDCs are performing well but some key...

This study highlights the emerging dynamics and further potential of intra-Commonwealth trade and investment. The Commonwealth provides tremendous trade and investment opportunities. Its members’ combined global exports of goods and services are...

The paper seeks to identify key issues and priorities for small states in the WTO in relation to advancing the Work Programme on Small Economies (WPSE), of which affirmation was made at the Nairobi Ministerial Conference. The paper provides guidance...

This paper proposes the effective use of Aid for Trade (AfT) programmes as one possible means of addressing some of the challenges faced by LDCs and small states in the services sector. It examines possible ways to enhance the capacity and...

One of the most prominent factors contributing to sluggish global trade growth in recent years has been the rebalancing of China's economy from being investment-oriented to consumption-driven since 2012. This has resulted in dwindling import demand...

This paper examines the importance of gender equality in trade and asks if an increase in the participation of women in senior roles in trade negotiation processes can result in more gender-equitable trade outcomes. There is now well-established...

This study analyses the supply chains for medical goods across Commonwealth countries. It assesses trade flows related to the health sector and, more specifically, import and export data for essential COVID-19 medical supplies. It also explores...

This paper provides an overview of two important aspects of value chain participation of Commonwealth countries: domestic value addition in exports and trade in intermediate goods. It compares this with global and regional trends and furthermore...

This paper considers the salience of commodities in Commonwealth members' merchandise trade and estimates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the commodities exports to five main markets: China, the USA, the European Union (EU-27), the UK and...

This paper focuses on the EU market to analyse the potential implications of LDC graduation for Bangladesh's apparel exports. By using a partial equilibrium model, it estimates that discontinuing tariff preferences could lead to a potential export...

This paper considers domestic climate laws among Commonwealth countries and climate change language across an array of trade and investment agreements featuring Commonwealth parties in order to identify key trends and useful mechanisms for future...

This paper assesses the export-oriented clothing industry in the five main sub-Saharan African (SSA) clothing exporter countries (Mauritius, Madagascar, Kenya, Lesotho and Swaziland). The focus is on analysing the various characteristics driving firm...

This paper examines the effect of Commonwealth membership on greenfield investment, using bilateral data in a structural gravity model. Estimates suggest that Commonwealth membership is associated with 19 per cent more greenfield investment, but this...

A large number of Commonwealth and Francophonie (CF) countries experience economic disadvantages in view of the interaction between small domestic markets in conjunction with unfavourable geographical location related to distance from global hubs of...

Historically, technology has served as a critical driver of globalisation, underpinning the rapid expansion in world trade and driving human progress, raising living standards and welfare, and precipitating transformative improvements in human...

Small island developing states (SIDS) have common economic challenges and are faced with high costs for energy, infrastructure, transportation, trade logistics and public administration. These challenges are increasingly undergirded by new concerns...

Although small states' total share of global trade has been declining over time, specific sectors, including those related to the ocean economy, have been experiencing growth. A number of Commonwealth coastal small states have been pioneering blue...

This paper studies the evolution of the Commonwealth trade network and considers the interrelationship between Commonwealth member countries and other important players in the global economy, and intra-Commonwealth country trade flows. Rich trade...

This study assembles data on bilateral goods and services trade flows for 242 countries over the period 1995–2010 and uses both descriptive statistics and sophisticated econometric techniques to understand the nature and structure of...

This study examines the determinants of export diversification for a group of Commonwealth member countries. It introduces a measure of participation in global value chains (GVCs) along with the average ‘upstreamness’ of exports as potential...