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While diversification of exports is often a desirable trade objective, it is far from clear how best to tap into new opportunities. This paper discusses the range of avenues of diversification, including (i) expanding the range of markets into which existing products are sold (geographic diversification); (ii) upgrading the value of existing products, including agricultural exports (quality diversification); and (iii) taking advantage of opportunities to expand non-merchandise exports (services diversification), in addition to introducing entirely new export products. All offer opportunities for cost?effective positive policies relating to the incentive regime, backbone services, and export support institutions.

With trade in industrial products between the EU and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs) now essentially free of tariff and non-tariff restrictions, the principal impact of accession to the EU on trade flows will be through access to the single market of the EU. A key element of this will be the removal of technical barriers to trade. In this article we try to highlight the potential importance of technical barriers to trade between the EU and the various CEECs, distinguishing between sectors according to the different approaches to the removal of these barriers in the EU: mutual recognition, detailed harmonization (old approach) and minimum requirements (new approach). We use two sources of information on technical regulations: a sectoral classification from a previous study of the impact of the single market and our own detailed translation of EU product-related directives into the relevant tariff codes. The analysis suggests that the importance of technical barriers varies considerably across the CEECs. The adjustment implications of access to the single market are likely to be greatest for those most advanced in their accession negotiations. (Journal of Common Market Studies / FUB)

AbstractThis paper suggests that output in the transition economies of eastern Europe and the countries of the former Soviet Union is related to, firstly, macroeconomic stabilization, and secondly, the speed of transition. The statistical analysis suggests that those countries which have been most successful in reducing inflation have experienced a lower level of output decline and have been first to achieve recovery in real output. There is also strong evidence that the economies which have been boldest in adopting reforms have been most successful in limiting the fall in output and promoting growth. No support is found for the assertion that the faster the speed of transition the greater the adverse impact on basic social indicators, such as mortality rates.

African exporters suffer from low survival rates on international markets. They fail more often than others, incurring time and again the setup costs involved in starting new relationships. This high churning is a source of waste, uncertainty, and discouragement. However, this trend is not inevitable. The high "infant mortality" of African exports is largely explained by Africa's low-income business environment and, once properly benchmarked, Africa's performance in terms of exporter failure is no outlier. Moreover, African exporters show vigorous entrepreneurship, with high entry rates into new products and markets despite formidable hurdles created by poor infrastructure, landlocked boundaries for some, and limited access to major sea routes for others. African exporters experiment a lot, and they frequently pay the price of failure. What matters for policy is how to ensure that viable ventures survive.Research carried out for this book demonstrates that governments can and should help to reduce the rate of failure of African export ventures through a mixture of improvements in the business environment, as well as well-targeted proactive interventions. The business environment can be made more conducive to sustainable export entrepreneurship through traditional policy prescriptions such as reducing transportation costs, facilitating trade through better technology and workflow in border management, improving the effectiveness of banking regulations to ensure the availability of trade finance, and striving for regulatory simplicity and coherence. In addition, governments can help leverage synergies between exporters. Original research featured in this book shows that African exporters improve each other's chances of survival when a critical mass of them penetrates a given market together. They also benefit from diaspora presence in destination

Although there have been major globalisation episodes prior to the current one, previous globalisation experiences did not seem as pervasive as the episode which began in the last quarter of the twentieth century. It is claimed that the current globalisation wave is causing social disruption: redistributing income from poor to rich, and displacing vulnerable workers. This book provides a careful investigation into the impacts of globalisation on the labour market. Globalization and the labour market examines the relative decline in the economic fortunes of unskilled workers in the major industrialised countries over the last thirty years. In the United States and United Kingdom this has resulted in a relative decline in the wages of unskilled workers. In the 'continental' European economies it has tended to manifest itself in the least skilled facing a higher probability of being unemployed or of being unemployed for longer. Many make the case that globalisation was responsible for this. But globalisation is not the only possible explanation. The last 30 years have also been a period of significant technological change - impressive both in its scale and speed. This has increased the demand for skilled workers and made them better off in economic terms. The contributions contained in this volume provide a detailed insight into how the labour market impacts of globalisation differ across different firms, industries and countries and how the impacts of technology and trade are intertwined. The analysis contained within this book will make it invaluable to academic researchers and policy makers.

The Structural Foundations of International Finance examines the ways in which national economies, especially those of industrialized countries, are affected by the operations of international financial markets. Although these markets provide productive funding, there is also much speculative trading in stocks and currencies which can cause booms, slumps and hinder recovery. The authors advocate entrepreneurial coordination by productive enterprises for balanced and stable growth, with reduced risks of financial crises and recessions

Globalizing Europe examines the involvement of the European Union in the deepening integration that results as trade and transnational production link markets and economic systems across the world. This process is posing a unique challenge to European decision-makers to implement measures that will maximize the benefits and reduce the costs of globalization. As Europe expands and becomes more integrated it is being obliged to assume greater control over the development of its external economic relations. To effect this, the authors propose that member states play a more active and constructive role in the global political economy. They advocate the planning and implementation of major initiatives that could ensure greater stability in the world economy. Because of the magnitude of the economic bonds developing between the EU and the USA, special attention is paid to the trends and issues associated with the evolution of Atlantic relations. One of the greatest challenges the authors highlight, and a theme implicit throughout the book, is that the EU's external problems may receive inadequate attention due to the complexities of its decision processes. EU-level decision-making may become more introspective, rather than global, in outlook. Combining firm, industry, regional and country levels of analysis with the diverse and provocative views of the authors, this book will be essential reading for scholars of international economics, international political economy, and international business and finance