Op-ed

April 09, 2020 - Trudi Hartzenberg

COVID-19 in Africa – some reflections on trade matters

Poverty, inequality and exclusion are key factors contributing to the devastating effects of COVID-19 on all African countries.

April 07, 2020 - Joseph Glauber, David Laborde, Will Martin, Rob Vos

COVID-19: Trade restrictions are worst possible response to safeguard food security

Originally published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) on 27 March 2020

March 31, 2020 - Anabel González

Yes, medical gear depends on global supply chains. Here's how to keep them moving.

Originally published by Peterson Institute for International Economics on 27 March 2020

March 26, 2020 - Padmashree Gehl Sampath

Industry 4.0: What next for least developed countries?

The possibility of reconfiguring manufacturing processes through new digital technologies and data provides opportunities to reboot industrial development in least developed countries.

March 18, 2020 - Simon J. Evenett

On tariffs, soap and tackling COVID-19

The right trade policies would help the world combat current pandemic

March 16, 2020 - Georgios Mermigkas, Ishrat Gadhok

Achieving SDG 2: Policy options and their trade-offs

SDG 2 commits governments to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, with five specific targets setting the level and ambition of this goal.

March 12, 2020 - Isaac Kwaku Fokuo, Akinyi Ochieng

Up and coming: Here's why Africa has the potential to boost global growth

Originally published in World Economic Forum Agenda on 18 February 2020

March 10, 2020 - Aussama Bejraoui, Elisabeth Lambrecht, Frans Lammersen

Tools and finance to help transform least developed country economies

Transforming the economies of least developed countries (LDCs) requires a nationally supported vision on how to tackle the binding constraints to higher value-added production.

March 04, 2020 - Filippos Pierros

Time for bold initiatives to tackle inequalities and climate change

Originally published in OECD-Development Matters on 31 January 2020

February 27, 2020 - Marc Auboin, Violeta Gonzalez

Why exporters need to mind the trade finance gap

Originally published in World Economic Forum Agenda on 10 February 2020

February 18, 2020 - Ratnakar Adhikari, Fabrice Lehmann

Least developed countries can become authors of their technological revolution

Originally published in OECD-Development Matters on 5 February 2020

February 13, 2020 - Mischa Tripoli

A window of opportunity for Africa: Agricultural innovation, integration and entrepreneurial ecosystems

Agriculture 4.0, fuelled by innovation and technology, is driving more productive, efficient and sustainable food systems.

February 11, 2020 - Simon J. Evenett, Johannes Fritz

How developing country exports fared during the recent Populist era

The latest version of the Global Trade Alert, which monitors state interventions that affect world commerce, explores whether developing country access to large overseas markets has changed during the current era of populism.

February 06, 2020 - Haruko Okusu

Benefits and challenges of automated processes for wildlife trade in poor countries

Efforts towards the automation of the CITES permitting system is an example of how trade facilitation could be applied in the wildlife sector.

January 28, 2020 - Daniel Gay

Leaving no one behind: New help for graduating least developed countries (Part II)

For many, graduation from least developed country status is not the end of the story.

January 07, 2020 - Rodrigo Polanco

How home country measures can promote foreign direct investment in poor economies

In order to be effective, existing and future home country outward FDI measures need to be customised to the needs and realities of LDCs.

December 19, 2019 - Mia Mikic

How will least developed countries in Asia fare in the trade war?

Countries that have already implemented trade-cost reducing reforms – for example trade facilitation, infrastructure, and data flows – will be better positioned to take advantage of any opportunities that arise from the trade war.

December 16, 2019 - Manuel Ruiz Muller, Joseph Henry Vogel, Klaus Angerer, Nicolas Pauchard

“Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing” in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

A Global Multilateral Benefit-Sharing Mechanism is the appropriate vehicle by which biodiverse rich countries can be compensated for genetic resources utilised in intellectual property.

December 09, 2019 - Rashid S. Kaukab

Breaking silos between trade and climate for the world’s most vulnerable countries

There is urgent need to better understand trade and climate change linkages in the context of least developed countries (LDCs).

December 04, 2019 - Ana Luiza Cortez

Improved assistance for LDC graduation: What else can be done?

Graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category, a milestone in a country’s development, is not free of controversies.

December 02, 2019 - Mohammad A. Razzaque, Syed Mortuza Ehsan, Brendan Vickers

Poorest countries caught in the global trade turmoil

Least developed countries (LDCs) confront a challenging global trade landscape, from slower long-term growth rates and rising protectionism to a weakening nexus between trade and GDP growth.

November 05, 2019 - Brendan Vickers, Hilary Enos-Edu

How trade can assist least developed countries hit by natural disasters

Many least developed countries are vulnerable to recurrent natural disasters, which exacerbate existing challenges, disrupt long-term investments and divert resources away from development to reconstruction.

November 04, 2019 - Juan Felipe Rodrigo López, Craig Atkinson

Digitally transforming Sudan’s economy

Enabling growth via ecommerce, trade facilitation and geographical indications

October 31, 2019 - Daniel Gay, Kevin P. Gallagher

For the least developed countries, revitalising multilateralism is life or death

The international system governing the environment and economy is under pressure, but it is in trade where least developed countries (LDCs) may lose most from cracks in the global order.

October 16, 2019 - Simon J. Evenett

2019’s other nasty trade policy surprise

With the spotlight on the Sino-US tariff war, a worrying trade policy dynamic implicating many countries has been overlooked.

September 18, 2019 - Amelia Kyambadde, Ratnakar Adhikari

Unleashing the power of women to transform the world’s poorest countries

If we are committed to transforming the lives of women across the globe, we have to start with the least developed countries

August 28, 2019 - Ratnakar Adhikari

6 ways the least developed countries can participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Originally published by World Economic Forum Agenda on 13 August 2019

August 22, 2019 - Ahmat Mahamat Bachir, Ratnakar Adhikari

Aid for trade must focus on the poorest, most fragile countries

In the last two decades, the international community has banded together many times to strategize a way forward that will bring peace, prosperity, and sustainable development for all.

August 15, 2019 - Violeta Gonzalez, Fabrice Lehmann

5 ways to boost sustainable trade in the world’s poorest countries

Originally published by World Economic Forum Agenda on 4 July 2019

July 01, 2019 - Deanna Ramsay, Violeta Gonzalez

4 ways to empower women in the world's poorest countries

Originally published by World Economic Forum Agenda on 24 June 2019

November 22, 2018 - Dale Honeck, Frank Van Rompaey, Hang T.T. Tran

Can LDCs leverage tourism for manufacturing?

To transform LDCs, turning tourism into new kinds of growth

August 10, 2018 - Aja Fatoumata C.M. Jallow-Tambajang, Yonov Frederick Agah

Don't shut trade down, make it truly inclusive

Why we must stand behind the rules-based global trading system now, more than ever

June 20, 2018 - Craig Atkinson

An Internet of Rules for all: Can "Trade Policy 3.0" foster inclusive trade?

The distinctive character of trade policy 3.0 is that, in addition to “writing down the rules” of trade in natural language (trade policy 1.0) and use of “single window systems” that replicate paper-based delivery in the digital realm (trade policy 2.0), countries are able to publish computational rules to the Internet in a standard way

May 01, 2018 - Giovanni Valensisi

Renewables in Least Developed Countries: More arrows in the quiver?

Ensuring universal access to energy will constitute a major challenge for least developed countries. What are the key considerations that these countries should keep in mind as they deploy efforts towards meeting this objective?

March 14, 2018 - Anoush der Boghossian

Making Aid for Trade work for women

Studies show benefits of a more inclusive economic model

November 11, 2017 - Ratnakar Adhikari

How is the EIF supporting LDCs to unleash their trade potential?

Inadequate institutional and productive capacities constitute major impediments to the participation of least developed countries in global trade. How is the Enhanced Integrated Framework supporting them, particularly in Africa, in their efforts to overcome these barriers and benefit more from trade?

November 11, 2017 - Ratnakar Adhikari, Joe Natuman