Trade Performance and Regional Integration of the CIS Countries
The study provides a detailed quantitative analysis, based on standard econometric models, of the trends and the configuration of trade of the CIS countries, with an emphasis on its low income members. It also contains an analysis of the CIS countr...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
Washington, DC: World Bank
2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/06/5044196/trade-performance-regional-integration-cis-countries http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14933 |
| Summary: | The study provides a detailed
quantitative analysis, based on standard econometric models,
of the trends and the configuration of trade of the CIS
countries, with an emphasis on its low income members. It
also contains an analysis of the CIS countries' trade
potential and its realization in a comparative perspective,
as well as examination of the nature of the existing CIS
intra-bloc trade. The study revealed no evidence that the
CIS countries as a group underperform significantly in terms
of either trade openness or export levels when compared to
the countries of similar per capita GDP and population size.
This means, however, that the low-income economies in the
CIS (CIS-7) have been performing on average just marginally
better than other low-income countries and that, overall,
they have been falling behind the countries that benefit
most from globalization. Overall, progress in the trade area
was slower in the CIS-7 countries than in the higher income
CIS members. This is reflected in: (i) lower overall export
levels and slower export growth in the second half of the
1990s; (ii) higher trade deficits; (iii) lower share of
manufacturing exports; (iv) incomplete re-orientation of
trade flows from the CIS to global markets; and (v) lower
incidence of intra-industry trade. The study found that the
CIS free trade area is, on balance, a beneficial,
trade-facilitating bloc. It features a free trade regime,
agreements on mutual recognition of standards, and
non-restrictive rules of origin. There is no evidence so far
that the CIS integration is of the "South-South"
type and thus may be harmful for some of its members.
However, the potential benefits of CIS trade integration
remain badly underutilized. The study suggests several
directions for strengthening the legal and administrative
framework for intra-CIS trade arrangements. |
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