Twenty-first-century trade governance: findings from the Commonwealth countries

Abstract

© 2019 Western Economic Association International This paper focuses on twenty-first-century-trade governance patterns within the Commonwealth (CW) countries. It uses an augmented gravity model to examine the role of governance in influencing trade and investment flows, and whether enhanced trade governance within the CW countries could potentially foster trade gains, on a both intra- and extra-CW basis. Results show a 10% reduction in the costs incurred for a good to exit a country can increase intra-CW exports by 5%. Second, contract enforcement is more efficient among CW members, and requires 20% less time compared to the world average. Third, every 1 percentage point improvement in government effectiveness triggers an increase in exports from CW, at 3.4%, compared to the rest of the world, at 2.4%. Finally, trade between CW members is three times higher when they belong to an existing regional trade agreement (F10, 011, F13)