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Productivity, Non-Tariff Measures and Openness

Objective

The latter half of the 20th century saw a successful international effort to reduce tariffs. These achievements, however, were undone by the subsequent proliferation of non-tariff measures (NTMs) to limit international trade and investment. These measures take a variety of forms and include safety regulations, environmental standards, and corporate tax incentives, all of which influence both trade and investment. This proposal brings together a team of world-class researchers from academia, policy organizations, and the private sector to offer a comprehensive and unified approach to describing and measuring these NTMs and their impact on a variety of social outcomes. The first goal of the project is to extend the state of the art of NTM measurement by collecting existing NTM measures, identifying key NTMs not yet measured, and filling those gaps. A key aspect of this is recognition of the ways in which NTMs interact with one another. The second goal is to use these improved measures to estimate the effects of NTMs on a variety of social and economic outcomes, including their impact on income and inequality in the EU, their role in promoting sustainable growth in developing countries, the effects they have on technological growth, and the frictions they create in the global supply chain. This phase also includes an impact analysis of the likely effects of NTM liberalization. Thus, the project will produce both improved understanding of NTMs and their effects, allow for more meaningful policy recommendations, and provide an innovative data set ideal for continued work on international trade and investment policy. The proposed medium-scale focused research project “Productivity, Non-Tariff Measures and Openness” (PRONTO) promises new and better data, better methodologies, and better understanding of the impact of NTMs on international investment and trade. Emphasis is placed on policy relevance and data availability.

Call for proposal

FP7-SSH-2013-2
See other projects for this call

Coordinator

UNIVERSITAET BERN
EU contribution
€ 609 099,10
Address
HOCHSCHULSTRASSE 6
3012 Bern
Switzerland

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Region
Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Espace Mittelland Bern / Berne
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Administrative Contact
Joseph Francois (Prof.)
Links
Total cost
No data

Participants (11)