Studies in Trade and Investment: The Development Impact of Information Technology in Trade Facilitation

It is important to lay out a framework for understanding how trade facilitation (TF) affects the movement of goods, and where information (IT) fits in. This relationship, in turn, sets the stage for locating small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in international transactions. There is an increasing amount of substantial literature on TF and equally wide knowledge of IT. While it is not the intent of this chapter to survey these materials, to the extent that they are relevant to the following discussion, they will be referred to appropriately. Section A of this chapter elaborates on TF and the wide range of instruments that have been used and analyzed while section B details some actual experiences in the use of IT in TF. Section C examines small and medium-sized enterprises and IT in TF. Section D summarizes this chapter and considers the implications for inclusive growth.Trade facilitation, ICT, IT, SMEs,

Public policy for innovation and internationalisation: are they worth it?

This paper investigates empirically determinants of regional growth. The scant literature that exists indicates that a region’s economic growth depends to a large extent on several features of the regions themselves, which evolve slowly over time. Our results contribute to this set of literature, accounting also for policy variables, which have been by far neglected. Indeed, due to numerous market failures, measures to promote innovation and internationalization have been prominent in government policies in the last decade. This follows because, there is a consensus among academics, policy makers and practitioners that innovation and internationalization has become increasingly important for the growth of regions and countries. The effect of such ad hoc policy measures by home governments to promote innovation and internationalization has scarcely been studied, and existing studies addressing this issue have mainly a national focus. Despite the clear theoretical justification for the public support, policy makers ask for robust empirical evidence on these matters. This paper contributes to this end. The novelty of the study is in the emphasis on the impact of public policy tools (for innovation and internationalization), and on the coordination between them, upon regional growth. The study is conducted for the 20 Italian regions over the period 1998 to 2008. It tests not only the importance of regional characteristics but also the effects of public policy measures upon the regional economic growth. We focus in specific in the role of innovation and internationalization policy related measures. The results reveal the importance of regional characteristics and also of policy measures. The empirical findings are in line with the theoretical hypotheses: public incentives are key for promoting growth, and they have to be seen in the broader context of the determinants of regional growth. The paper also derives conclusions regarding the interrelationship between policies for innovation and for internationalization. Moreover, the allocation of incentives does not seem to help counterbalance the regional asymmetry, and the global processes and challenges are likely to strengthen the gap between regions.

Brazil´s internationalization of SMEs: trade barriers and notes on how to overcome them – a commented literature review

This study assumes a literature review on trade barriers perceived by Brazilian Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). It was found that each previously conducted study on trade Barriers in Brazil uses a different trade barrier classification, subsequently infusing the responses and making direct comparison difficult. This article suggests to use Leonidou’s (2004) classification to aid researchers to compare, synthesize and build upon the research. It was found that most Brazilian SME’s perceive an unfavourable business climate to internationalize. The most severe trade barriers are the deficient logistical infrastructure and unfavourable home regulations. These barriers can be overcome by investing in infrastructure and the effective implementation of logistical policies, while simultaneously making bureaucratic processes more transparent and predictable through providing an adequate enforcement structure. Furthermore, it appeared that firms whose decision-makers are rather incompetent, risk-averse, and inward-looking are very likely to perceive more export obstacles. As such investment on training and education was considered desirable to reduce the perception of trade barriers on all fronts. Even though, it seems like SMEs are subject to unfavourable external situations, they can join strengths by conducting lobbying activities. In addition, government-business consultation is considered key to the future internationalization success of SME, these kind of processes should be open, balanced, and transparent, providing a clear channel for SME participation

Going Global: Factors Influencing U.S.-based SMEs’ International Market Access

Globalization promotes vast business opportunities for trade, flow of capital, ideas, and people. In order to integrate into the global economy, countries tend to promote policies, which in turn, help to remove barriers to the flow of investment, goods, and services. While there is ample information describing how multinational corporations have benefited from globalization through greater access to international markets and investment, there is a need to identify ways to unburden small to medium-sized enterprises so that they can reach their potential in the global economy. Barriers vary across business sectors. However, there are fundamental impediments that prevail, in general. The barriers to SME exports add to the resistance of their leaders to launch businesses outside of the NAFTA region. This descriptive paper summarizes international trade activity of USbased SMEs and focuses on key export barriers to US-based SMEs. An analysis of demographics and purchasing power of and Brazil, Russia, India and China is conducted, suggesting opportunities for US-based SMEs export to those markets