Description: Unlocking Central America's Export Potential : Infrastructure for Unlocking Exports - SEZs, Innovation, and Quality Systems

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Unlocking Central America's Export Potential : Infrastructure for Unlocking Exports - SEZs, Innovation, and Quality Systems

The Central America region is a small market. The region contains around 43 million inhabitants (0.6 percent of total world population) who generate around 0.25 percent of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). While the region has successf...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	World Bank
Language:	English en_US
Published:	Washington, DC 2017
Subjects:	AGREEMENT ON SUBSIDIES AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AGRICULTURE APPAREL APPAREL ACCOUNTS APPAREL EXPORT APPAREL EXPORTS APPAREL MANUFACTURING APPAREL SECTOR BARRIER BENCHMARK BOND BORDER TRADE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES CENTRAL BANK COMMODITY COMMODITY EXPORT COMMON MARKET COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE COMPETITIVE POSITION COMPETITIVENESS CORPORATE TAX CROWDING OUT CURRENCY CUSTOMS CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATION CUSTOMS PROCEDURES CUSTOMS REGIME CUSTOMS TERRITORY CUSTOMS UNION DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DOMESTIC ECONOMY DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES DOMESTIC MARKET DOMESTIC MARKETS DOMESTIC PRODUCERS DOMESTIC PRODUCTION DOMESTIC SUPPLIERS DUTY DRAWBACK ECONOMIC ACTIVITY ECONOMIC CRISIS ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC IMPACT ECONOMIC INTEGRATION ECONOMIC STRUCTURE ECONOMICS ECONOMISTS ENVIRONMENTAL EPZ EXPORT BASKET EXPORT DIVERSIFICATION EXPORT INCENTIVES EXPORT PERFORMANCE EXPORT PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS EXPORT PROCESSING EXPORT PROCESSING ZONE EXPORT PROCESSING ZONES EXPORT SECTOR EXPORT SECTORS EXPORT SHARE EXPORT SUBSIDIES EXPORT TAXES EXPORT VALUE EXPORT VOLUMES EXPORTERS EXPORTS FEASIBILITY STUDIES FINANCIAL SERVICES FINANCIAL SUPPORT FISHERIES FOREIGN COMPANIES FOREIGN CURRENCY FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT FOREIGN EXCHANGE FOREIGN FIRM FOREIGN FIRMS FOREIGN INVESTMENT FOREIGN INVESTORS FOREIGN MARKETS FOREIGN SUPPLIERS FOREIGN TRADE FOREIGN TRADE PROMOTION FREE ACCESS FREE ACCESS TO IMPORTS FREE ENTRY FREE IMPORTS FREE TRADE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT FREE TRADE AREAS FREE TRADE ZONE FREE TRADE ZONES FREE ZONE FREE ZONES FUTURE GROWTH GDP GDP PER CAPITA GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS GLOBALIZATION GROWTH RATE HARMONIZATION IMPORT DUTIES INCENTIVE STRUCTURE INCOME INCOME TAX INCOME TAX EXEMPTION INDIVIDUAL FIRMS INDUSTRIAL POLICY INFORMATION SYSTEM INTERMEDIATE GOODS INTERMEDIATE INPUTS INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS INTERNATIONAL TRADE INVESTMENT CLIMATE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES INVESTMENT POLICY INVESTOR DEMANDS JOB CREATION JOINT VENTURES KNOWLEDGE SPILLOVERS LABOR COSTS LABOR FORCE LOCAL CURRENCY MARKET ACCESS MARKET SIZE MARKET STANDARDS METALS MUTUAL RECOGNITION MUTUAL RECOGNITION AGREEMENT MUTUAL RECOGNITION ARRANGEMENT NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT NATURAL RESOURCES OUTPUT OUTSOURCING POLICY DECISIONS POLICY ENVIRONMENT PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT PRODUCERS REAL ESTATE REGIONAL INTEGRATION REGIONAL TRADE REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT REGULATORY FRAMEWORK REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS REINVESTMENT RULES OF ORIGIN SHOPS SKILLED WORKERS SMALL COUNTRIES SPECIAL INCENTIVES SPECIAL REGIMES SPECIALIZATION STAMP DUTIES SUSTAINABLE GROWTH TAX EXEMPTIONS TAX REVENUE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER TOURISM TRADE AGREEMENT TRADE BARRIERS TRADE COMPETITIVENESS TRADE COSTS TRADE DIVERSION TRADE FACILITATION TRADE PARTNERSHIP TRADE POLICY TRADE POLICY ENVIRONMENT TRADE PREFERENCES TRADE PROMOTION TRADE PROMOTION AGENCY TRANSPORT COSTS UNFAIR COMPETITION VALUE ADDED VERTICAL INTEGRATION WAGES WORLD TRADE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION WTO
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/621531468016219857/Infrastructure-for-unlocking-exports-SEZs-innovation-and-quality-systems http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27318

Description
Summary:	The Central America region is a small market. The region contains around 43 million inhabitants (0.6 percent of total world population) who generate around 0.25 percent of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). While the region has successfully embarked on a regional integration agenda and has strong commercial links with the US, extra-regional trade-mainly with large fast-growing emerging economies-remains a challenge. Export performance is analyzed along three dimensions that, together, give a fairly comprehensive picture of competitiveness: 1) the composition, orientation and growth of the export basket; 2) the degree of export diversification across products and markets; and 3) the level of sophistication and quality of their main exports. This analysis allows exports dynamics at the different margins of trade (intensive, extensive, and quality) to be evaluated and individual countries' to be benchmarked with peers in the Central American region. The results of this report allow policy makers to identify key areas to explore in the overall discussion of export competitiveness in the Central American region. This paper relates to the literature on challenges and opportunities that trade liberalization can bring to the Central American region. Much of the recent literature focuses on the role of the free trade agreement negotiated by Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, with the US.