"The authors of the individual chapters ... are, or were at the time of writing, members of the OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate. The overall project was co-ordinated by Evdokia Moise"--P. 3.

Includes bibliographical references.

Quantitative assessment of the benefits of trade facilitation Examining the effect of certain customs and administrative procedures on trade The economic impact of trade facilitation Trade facilitation reform in the service of development The role of automation in trade facilitation The cost of introducing and implementing trade facilitation measures.

International trade has grown rapidly in recent years, thanks in part to the progressive reduction of tariffs and quotas through successive rounds of multilateral trade liberalization. However, this progress brings to light one of the remaining weak links of international trade, which prevents countries from drawing full benefits from the advantages of open global markets: border bottlenecks generated by inefficient, outdated and complex trade procedures and formalities. This book brings together six studies that examine to what extent and in which ways the costs of inefficient border processes influence trade and investment flows, how institutional and political factors affect the design and implementation of efficiency-enhancing measures, whether the expected benefits of these measures enough to justify the expenses of putting them in place, and whether the expenses involved are within the reach of developing and least developed countries, especially in light of other development priorities.--Publisher's description.

Also available online.

Also issued electronically via the World Wide Web as part of SourceOECD.