Trade costs in the India-Mekong Subregion: Identifying Policy Priorities for Trade Facilitation

Yann Duval and Chorthip Utoktham (utoktham@un.org)
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Chorthip Utoktham: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

No 411, Working Paper Series from United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

Abstract: This paper explores the trade facilitation performance of India and Mekong countries using a new measure of bilateral comprehensive trade costs, complemented by a review of specific trade policy and trade facilitation-related indicators. A model of comprehensive trade costs is then developed and estimated using these specific indicators in an effort to identify policies and measures that have a significant effect on trade costs, and to prioritize them. The trade costs between India and Mekong countries are found to be high: from 20% to 100% higher than those prevailing among Mekong countries. However, the fact that India, China, Thailand, and most of the other India-Mekong countries made more progress in reducing trade costs with each other than with developed countries - such as Japan and the USA - is encouraging, showing signs of slow but steady improvements in regional connectivity. Econometric results suggest that countries should prioritize policies aimed at further developing maritime and ICT services to reduce trade costs.

Keywords: trade costs; trade facilitation; measures; policy; India; Mekong; tariff; non-tariff; regional connectivity; maritime; ICT; Information and Communication Technology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 25 pages
Date: 2011-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-int and nep-sea
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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