Description: Informal Export Barriers and Poverty

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Informal Export Barriers and Poverty

The author investigates the poverty impacts of informal export barriers like transport costs, cumbersome customs practices, costly regulations, and bribes. He models these informal barriers as export taxes that distort the efficient allocation of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Porto, Guido G.
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, D.C. 2013
Subjects:	AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AVERAGE PRODUCTION COSTS CAPITAL STOCK CASH INCOME CHILD LABOR COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE CONSUMER PRICES CORRUPTION COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS CRIME CROP PRODUCTION DEREGULATION EQUILIBRIUM PRICES EXCHANGE RATES EXPENDITURE EXPORT BARRIERS EXTERNAL MARKETS FACTOR DEMAND FACTOR PRICES FORMAL LABOR MARKET FREE TRADE HOUSEHOLD INCOME HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS IMPORT BARRIERS IMPORTS INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME EFFECTS INCOME INEQUALITY INFLATION INFORMAL SECTOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE LABOR MARKET LABOR SUPPLY LOCAL PRODUCTION PRICE ELASTICITIES PRICING POLICIES PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES PRODUCTION COSTS TARIFF BARRIERS TRADE BARRIERS TRADE LIBERALIZATION TRADE POLICIES TRADE REFORMS POVERTY REDUCTION AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AGRICULTURE AVERAGE TARIFF CONSUMERS DEMAND CURVES DEMAND ELASTICITIES DEMAND FOR GOODS DEMAND FUNCTIONS ELASTICITIES EQUILIBRIUM EXOGENOUS VARIABLES EXPENDITURES EXPORT PRICES EXPORT SECTORS EXPORT TAXES EXPORTERS EXPORTS FACTOR MARKETS FACTOR PRICE FACTORS OF PRODUCTION FINANCIAL CRISIS FREE TRADE AREAS GDP INCOME INCOME ELASTICITIES INCOME LEVELS INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS INPUT PRICES INSURANCE INTERNATIONAL MARKETS LABOR MARKETS LEISURE LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES POVERTY ALLEVIATION POVERTY LINE PRICE CHANGES PRICE ELASTICITY PRICE TAKERS PRODUCERS PRODUCTION FUNCTION PRODUCTION FUNCTIONS PROFIT MAXIMIZATION REAL INCOME SALES SOCIAL WELFARE SUBSTITUTION SUPPLIERS TARIFF RATES TIME SERIES TRADABLE GOODS TRADE COSTS TRADE FACILITATION TRADE MODELS TRADE RESTRICTIONS TRANSACTION COSTS TRANSPORT COSTS UTILITY FUNCTION WAGE RATE WAGES WELFARE EFFECTS WELFARE FUNCTION WELFARE GAINS WELFARE IMPACTS WELFARE LOSSES WORLD MARKETS
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/07/4960294/informal-export-barriers-poverty http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14066

Description
Summary:	The author investigates the poverty impacts of informal export barriers like transport costs, cumbersome customs practices, costly regulations, and bribes. He models these informal barriers as export taxes that distort the efficient allocation of resources. In low-income agricultural economies, this distortion lowers wages and household agricultural income, thereby leading to higher poverty. The author investigates the poverty impacts of improving export procedures in Moldova. This is a unique case study: poverty is widespread (half of the Moldovan population lives in poverty), the country is very open and relies on agricultural exports for growth, formal trade barriers are fairly liberalized, and informal export barriers are common and widespread. The author finds that improving export practices would benefit the average Moldovan household across the whole income distribution. For example, halving informal export barriers would cause poverty to decline from 48.3 percent of the population to between 43.3 and 45.5 percent, potentially lifting 100,000-180,000 individuals out of poverty.