Estimates of trade-related adjustment costs in Syria

Jamus Lim and Christian Saborowski

No 5368, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: The scope and complexity of international trading arrangements in the Middle East, as well as their spotty historical record of success, underscores the urgent need for an adequate understanding of the relative costs and benefits of participation in preferential trading arrangements and, more generally, of changes in domestic import regimes. This paper seeks to address this problem by providing estimates of the adjustment costs associated with two broad classes of hypothetical trade policy scenarios for Syria: participation in preferential trading arrangements, and changes in the domestic import regime. The authors find that the revenue consequences of the first scenario may be substantial. Their analysis of the second scenario suggests that the number of tariff bands can be reduced, while ensuring revenue neutrality, via the introduction of a value added tax of sufficient but reasonable size.

Keywords: Trade Policy; Debt Markets; Free Trade; International Trade and Trade Rules; Economic Theory&Research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010-07-01
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSC ... ered/PDF/WPS5368.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Estimates of trade-related adjustment costs in Syria (2010)
Working Paper: Estimates of Trade-Related Adjustment Costs in Syria (2009)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5368

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20433. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Roula I. Yazigi ().