Standards, Trade, and Development: A Quick Look at Regulation and Information Technology

John Wilson, Lead Economist, Development Research Group, The World Bank

6/27/2008
(Original Publish Date: 2/3/2007)

The expansion of global trade over the past fifty years has contributed to economic welfare, poverty reduction, and human development in important ways. The World Bank projects that global trade could expand by more than threefold to $27 trillion by 2030 (World Bank 2007). Growth in developing countries over this period - in part fueled by trade - could cut the number of people living on less than $1 per day by half - to 550 million (World Bank 2007). The removal of government from directing economic activity - including technology development, private sector decision-making, and world trade markets - can continue to be an important engine through which these goals can be achieved.