Participants are requested to register and obtain meeting badges at the registration counter, located on the ground floor, UNCC, from 08:30 hours to 09:00 hours on the event day. Participants who are not able to register during the time indicated above are requested to do so upon their arrival at UNCC before going to the conference room. Only the names of duly registered participants will be included in the list of participants.

/pdf/economic-and-social-commission-for-asia-and-the-pacific-1cgptjifai.pdf

Economic and social commission for asia and the pacific

This paper uses the entry of foreign banks into India during the 1990s - analyzing variation in both the timing of the new foreign banks' entries and in their location - to estimate the effect of foreign bank entry on domestic credit access and firm performance. In contrast to the belief that foreign bank entry should improve credit access for all firms, the estimates indicate that foreign banks financed only a small set of very profitable firms upon entry, and that on average, firms were eight percentage points less likely to have a loan after a foreign bank entry because of a systematic drop in domestic bank loans. Similar estimates are obtained using the location of pre-existing foreign firms as an instrument for foreign bank locations. Moreover, the observed decline in loans is greater among smaller firms, firms with fewer tangible assets, and firms affiliated with business groups. The drop in credit also appears to adversely affect the performance of smaller firms with greater dependence on external financing. Overall, this evidence is consistent with the exacerbation of information asymmetries upon foreign bank entry.

/pdf/the-impact-of-foreign-bank-entry-in-emerging-markets-2edl311vlc.pdf

The Impact of Foreign Bank Entry in Emerging Markets: Evidence from India

Capital structure in an emerging stock market: The case of India

Regional Integration and Development

This paper describes the United States recently enacted Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and assesses its quantitative impact on African exports. The AGOA expands the scope of preferential access of Africa`s exports to the United States in key areas such as clothing. However, its medium-term benefitsestimated at about US$100-$140 million, an 8-11 percent addition to current non-oil exportswould have been nearly five times greater (US$540 million) if no restrictive conditions had been imposed on the terms of market access. The most important of these conditions are the rules of origin with which African exporters of clothing must exporters of clothing must comply to benefit from duty-free access.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/WPIEA1582002.pdf?abstractid=879987&mirid=3

The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act and its Rules of Origin: Generosity Undermined?

The report suggests that improving and sustaining export performance and thereby gross domestic product (GDP) growth will require sustained improvement in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, pointing again to the need for significant structural reform. Despite recent increases, FDI inflows in South East Europe 5 (SEE5) remain low and below potential. The onus for encouraging FDI falls on structural reforms, given the above limits on both fiscal and monetary policy. Deeper integration within Central European free trade area (CEFTA) countries will increase market size, improve service quality, and help attract FDI. Deeper integration among SEE countries such as through the completion of the implementation of CEFTA 2006, the reduction of border frictions through the establishment of a single management of Border crossing points, the regionalization of the rules of origin among CEFTA 2006 countries, and the expansion of SEE participation in pan European/Mediterranean cumulating of origin arrangements (an ongoing process) will contribute to market contestability and the development of a larger market, thereby helping to attract FDI. Deeper integration among CEFTA countries in services could also contribute to improving service quality significantly, thereby enhancing the overall productivity of the economies. This report mentions several areas, in different sectors, where there can be opportunities for regional harmonization and cooperation, including those areas where the agenda is defined by commitments to the acquis.

Western Balkan integration and the EU : an agenda for trade and growth

The Caribbean region is at a development crossroads and its member nations must take significant and concrete steps to improve productivity and competitiveness and face up to global competition if they are to accelerate or even maintain past growth, says a new World Bank report1. By taking such steps, they will reposition themselves strategically as an emerging trading bloc for goods and services; without such action, they risk growing economic marginalization and erosion of many of the social gains of the last three decades.

/pdf/a-time-to-choose-caribbean-development-in-the-21st-century-32kpcu80hz.pdf

A Time to Choose : Caribbean Development in the 21st Century

Trade has played a critical role in global poverty reduction In harnessing the potential of trade, some of the most successful countries have developed strong trade relationships with their neighbors However, many South Asian countries have trade regimes that often offset the positive impact of geography and proximity The report documents systematically the gaps between current and potential trade in South Asia and addresses important specific barriers that have held trade back These barriers include tariffs and paratariffs, real and perceived nontariff barriers, connectivity costs, and the broader trust deficit This policy-focused report unpacks these critical barriers to effective trade integration in South Asia through four in-depth studies that produce new, detailed, on-the-ground knowledge Three of the studies are based on extensive stakeholder consultations Two also rely on tailored surveys The fourth study, on tariffs, benefits from new data on paratariffs The report also marshals new evidence showing how trading regimes in South Asia discriminate against each other Given the South Asian context, incremental, yet concrete steps aimed at tapping the potential of deeper integration are appropriate The report has been drafted in this spirit It offers precise, actionable policy recommendations that could help achieve measurable progress in key areas of trade and integration that would be to the advantage of all countries in the region

A Glass Half Full : The Promise of Regional Trade in South Asia

India's trade policy establishment is perceived to be somewhat wary of multilateral engagement, even though India is implementing substantial economic, and trade policy reforms Some essays in this well-researched volume may throw light on this paradox More important, the essays take a hard look at India's interests, and concerns with respect to international trade They suggest ways that India could deploy its domestic reform agenda in the Doha Round negotiations, to secure concessions from its trading partners, while using multilateral engagement to reinforce the domestic reform process, and enhance the process' credibility The book should prove of considerable value to policymakers, market participants, and other stakeholders

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/15082/9780821354100.pdf?sequence=4

India and the WTO

This collection of papers by leading economists focuses on policy and institutional reforms in banking, finance, and capital markets in India.

Sanjay Kathuria

Papers

Western Balkan integration and the EU : an agenda for trade and growth

A Time to Choose : Caribbean Development in the 21st Century

A Glass Half Full : The Promise of Regional Trade in South Asia

India and the WTO

India : a financial sector for the twenty-first century