2019 – part2 – 7 – 12

24/ WTO advanced course on economic analysis of trade policy concludes in Geneva

5 July 2019

Twenty four participants from developing countries attended the WTO Advanced Course on the Economic Analysis of Trade Policy in Geneva on 27 June to 5 July to enhance the use of economic data for policy making.

The course is based on the publications jointly authored by the WTO and UN Conference on Trade and Development titled “A Practical Guide to Trade Policy Analysis” and “An Advanced Guide to Trade Policy Analysis .” The training activity was offered as part of the WTO’s technical assistance and capacity building courses and represents the highest level of “specialist” training within the WTO’s progressive learning framework.

Robert Koopman, WTO’s chief economist and director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division (ERSD), highlighted at the opening of the course the importance of solid quantitative analysis of economic data and trade policy to facilitate and improve the process of negotiation, policy formulation and implementation. ERSD designed and delivered the course in collaboration with the WTO Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC).

Professor Yoto Yotov, a renowned international trade expert, delivered two of the course lectures.  He presented the latest advancements in the field, including a gravity model to simulate the long-term impact of trade policy changes such as the conclusion of a regional trade agreement.

Participants familiarized themselves with sources of data and with methodologies for trade and trade policy analysis, including the calculation of trade flows and trade policy indicators and the gravity model of trade, to analyse the impact of specific trade policies on trade. Lectures were complemented with hands-on application and exercises with Stata software. The course was also a platform for discussions on ways to enhance the use of research in policy making at the domestic and regional level.

The chief of the ITTC Course Design and Training Section, Jorge Castro, closed the course by encouraging the participants to integrate and apply the tools and methodologies they learned and to share their new knowledge and enhanced skills with their colleagues for the benefit of well-informed policy making.

Source: wto.org