ARTNeT Online Courses - Ongoing
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ARTNeT Advanced Workshop on Machine Learning and Text Mining for Trade Policy Analysis with R, 29 Mar – 12 Apr 2021 (virtual)
This online course is designed to introduce participants to the basic techniques involved in machine learning and text mining, with applications focusing on international trade policy. The short course emphasizes developing an intuitive understanding of the tools involved, so that participants can identify future applications in their own work. It is a hands-on course, with participants expected to spend considerable time analyzing real-world data. All participants must have successfully completed ESCAP’s free online course on R for trade analysis to be eligible. Participants should also have some background in econometrics and statistics, typically to graduate level. The course consists of three modules. For each module, participants should first watch the pre-recorded lecture, covering key concepts and demonstrating their application in R. They should then work with replication files to ensure they can reproduce and understand all results in the demonstration. Next, they should prepare answers to discussion questions designed to develop intuition. They should then prepare answers to a short problem set using R and supplied datasets. The group will then meet for interactive sessions in which questions can be asked on each of the lecture and demonstration material, and discussion questions and problem sets can be analyzed.
The course has been developed and will be delivered by Ben Shepherd, the Principal of Developing Trade Consultants (DTC) and the ARTNeT Advisor.
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ARTNeT Members Past Events
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Institute for International Trade and Development (ITD) hosted a 'High-level Training Course on Strategic Economic Diplomacy’, 29 March 2021
ITD organized the 'High-level Training Course: Strategic Economic Diplomacy' on 29 March 2021, in a blended format. The event was participated by more than 40 senior officials from foreign embassies, trade negotiators, and representatives of other relevant entities. The audience came from more than 20 countries. Substantive sessions of the event featured: Mr. Chutintorn Gongsakdi, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand on “Thailand’s Roles and Trends of Proactive Economic Diplomacy: Post COVID-19"; Ms. Kejpiroon Kohsuwan, Deputy Director-General of Department of Trade Negotiations, Ministry of Commerce of Thailand on “Opportunities and Challenges: COVID - 19 and Macroeconomic Impacts”; Mr. Kiat Sittheeamorn, Member of Parliament and Vice-Chairperson of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, on Emerging Issues in the Era of COVID-19" and Dr. Mia Mikic, ARTNeT Advisor at Large on “The State of Asia Economy, Trade, and Investment”. The event was streamed online.
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SANEM, in collaboration with ASEAN-India Centre, RIS, India; South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), Nepal; Indian Studies Center of Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; Pathfinder Foundation, Sri Lanka; and Centre for Research on Bhutanese Society, Bhutan, held the three-day-long dialogue. The forum also featured 15 paper presentations. The keynote speaker of the dialogue, Professor Rehman Sobhan, shared a noble and lofty vision of uniting the Bay of Bengal region through increased economic cooperation.
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Interactive discussion on Revitalising Multilateralism: Pragmatic ideas for the new WTO Director General, 23 February 2021
The Institute for International Trade, the University of Adelaide organized an interactive discussion with the co-editors of the recently released e-book, Simon Evenett and Richard Baldwin. Peter Draper and Dessie Ambaw, who contributed a chapter to the volume, also participated in the session as well as leading experts from Asian Trade Centre, International Law and Global Governance, Edinburgh Law School, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. You can download the session recordings from here.
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International Economic Forum on Asia - Digitalisation and Development: Reflections from Asia, 5 March 2021
Organized in collaboration between RIS, India and the OECD Development Centre and ERIA, this forum covered a wider scope of digital transformation and discussion on the sectors that need specific attention (such as digital education, digital infrastructure, fintech, financial inclusion and digital governance) and a dedicated session on digital health. With countries facing threats of new diseases and pandemics, like COVID-19, digital technologies could help them working together with advanced applications in medical diagnostics, pooling scientific data and best practices, integrating health systems, and making health services accessible and affordable to the ordinary people in the countries. You can download the session's recordings from here.
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ARTNeT Members' Upcoming Events
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Sri Lanka Forum of University Economists (SLFUE) 2021
The Department of Agricultural Economics and Business Management of the University of Peradeniya will be chairing the Sri Lanka Forum of University Economists (SLFUE) 2021. The Chair Transfer Ceremony and the 37th Meeting will be held on the 9th April 2021 at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya. The Second Issue of the Eighth Volume of the Sri Lanka Journal of Economic Research will also be launched at the event. A key-note on "International Trade in Re-Globalized World" will be delivered by Dr. Mia Mikic, a trade economist and the coordinator of the Asia-Pacific Research and Training on Trade (ARTNeT) between 2009 and 2021. Prof. Upul B. Dissanayake, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya will grace the occasion.
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Call for study proposals
Readiness assessment for cross-border paperless trade (country level)
United Nations ESCAP secretariat is seeking study proposals on readiness assessment for cross-border paperless trade of any regional member of ESCAP (except for nine economies where the assessments have already been completed or being conducted). The selected proposals will be given a consultancy budget of up to USD 12,000. For further information, please refer to click here.
Request for Expression of Interest (EOI)
Research on selected topics in paperless trade and trade facilitation
United Nations ESCAP secretariat invites interested experienced researchers and practitioners to make proposals to carry out studies on trade facilitation and cross-border paperless trade. Five priority research topics are provided below, but relevant proposals on other topics will also be considered.
1. Social and environmental impact of trade facilitation and paperless trade
2. Trust and mutual recognition mechanism in electronic communication environment (transactions based on exchange of electronic data)
3. Advancing digitalization of trade documents
4. Electronic certificate of origin implementation
5. Other topics for advancing trade facilitation or cross-border paperless trade
For further information, please click here.
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South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) is going to host the 2nd SANEM International Development Conference (SIDC) 2021 on the theme of “Post-COVID Recovery: Contexts and Priorities” on June 17-19, 2021. The conference will be conducted through the web conference application, Zoom and broadcasted live on SANEM’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
The papers are expected to identify the challenges posed by the pandemic related to the following themes. However, this list is not exhaustive. The papers can be empirical or theoretical and can be based on any specific country or cross-country experiences. Last Date for Abstract Submission: 30 April 2021. For all information contact the conference convener Dr. Selim Raihan.
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Master of Arts in Asia-Pacific Studies Program (MAPS)
Thammasat Institute of Area Studies, Thammasat University
MAPS Program provides students with the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the history, politics, law, and economies of the Asia-Pacific region. The program adopts multidisciplinary approaches to give students an understanding of contemporary regional issues; allows participants to integrate the study of business, economics, politics and law; and prepares and trains graduates for careers in the public sector, diplomatic service, academic and research institutions, consultancies, and international organizations.
Please watch a video about our program for more information
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsD01FWNQ3M&feature=youtu.be
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ARTNeT members' publications
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Please note that KIEP also runs WORLD ECONOMY BRIEFS. Some of the March titles refer to labour and environmental provisions in the FTAs; the future of WTO; the effects of FTAs on SMEs, etc.
The Vol. 3, No. 1 (April issue) of the Journal of Asian Economic Integration is now published. It has carried five research papers and eight book reviews The journal is accessible at this link.
Passed in 2019, the Rice Tariffication Law (Republic Act [RA] 11203) aims to reduce the price of the country's key staple. It also mandates an annual Rice Fund to provide production support and other assistance to rice farmers in anticipation of the policy's potential adverse impact. This Policy Note reviews recent trends in the rice market and assesses the effects of rice tariffication on poverty and income inequality using microsimulation. It finds that rice tariffication had resulted in lower prices of palay and retailed rice. Lower palay price, however, increases poverty but only slightly. To offset this poverty impact (estimated to be just a fraction of the safety net provided for in RA 11203), the study recommends that targeted cash transfers be given to affected farmers. It also suggests that Rice Fund programs be evaluated to measure their impact on the rice industry at the grassroots and determine whether the losers of the policy reform have been compensated adequately. Download from here.
Penned by ARTNeT Advisors and Associates
Inbound M&As in India: Issues and Challenges,
The Anti-Trust Bulletin, published 21 March 2021;
By K.S. Chalapati Rao, ISID and Biswajit Dhar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
Abstract: The economic reforms of 1991 drastically transformed India’s approach toward foreign direct investment (FDI). The focus has been on attracting increasingly large amounts of FDI. There were no regulations on mergers and acquisitions for two decades, and when they were finally introduced in 2011 under the Competition Act, 2002, they were rendered ineffective by setting high thresholds, providing exemptions, and by narrowly focusing on competition. As a result, major domestic companies as also emerging leaders were taken over. Many foreign companies gained stronghold in the economy without adding capacities. The domestic private corporate sector lagged far behind in various respects. Belying the expectations of the policymakers, it invested far too inadequately in research and development. This article argues that India should not continue its reliance on FDI to achieve the goal of creating an internationally competitive manufacturing sector. India should do more than establishing an FDI review mechanism. Cross-border acquisitions must be subjected to strict scrutiny by a specialized agency. Proactive and coordinated measures must be devised to encourage domestic enterprises. Special attention must be given to providing long-term risk capital.
Post-Covid World Economy and
India-China Bilateral Trade
Trade and Development Review Vol. 13, Issue 2, 2020
By Biswajit Nag and Ashima Puniani, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT)
Abstract: In the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic, US-China trade war and India’s exit from RCEP, the current study attempts to analyze the trend of export and import between India and China, the reasons behind export growth, change in competitiveness, quality perception, etc. Further, it compares global value chain (GVC) participation of India and China especially backward and forward linkages. The paper finds that India lacks diversification and good quality. Its export growth has been mainly due to pure competitiveness. On the other hand, China has gained mainly through product diversification and economies of scale. In many products, China has started experiencing a decrease in competitiveness in Indian market. Both China and India had a steep rise in GVC participation but in terms of GVC position, China has moved towards forward participation in GVC and India towards backward participation. The paper concludes that for India, compete and cooperate simultaneously with China perhaps could be the best strategy. Download from here.
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People on the move
Congratulations to Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi for being awarded the SKOCH AWARD - Indian Civilian Award for International Trade
Apart being a researcher, Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi is an institution builder. His work focuses on promoting South-South Cooperation and collaborating with developing countries in multilateral negotiations in various fora. Trade and Innovation linkages with a special focus on WTO, development economics, cooperation and investment are few areas that have benefitted immensely from his contributions. Since 2014 Prof. Chaturvedi has been at the helm of the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), a founding institutional member of ARTNeT. More on the SKOCH 2021 Award here and more on Prof. Chaturvedi here.
Welcome back to Sirikan Prasertying
Ms. Prasertying returned to the Institute for International Trade and Development, Bangkok as the Director for International Cooperation Department. In the past decade, she has been involved in project management of international trade and foreign affairs in public and private sectors both domestically and internationally. Prior to that, Sirikan held a management position in the private sector in the airline industry. Sirikan holds a Masters Degree in International Business and a professional post-graduate certificate in "Exhibition Management Degree" from UFI.
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To review new publications and activities of the ARTNeT members, partners and collaborators, please go to ARTNeT Members and Partners page and click on the institution or partner you are interested in. If you would like to feature publications, events or other news in the next (April) ARTNeT newsletter, please write to artnetontrade@un.org.
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Please also visit our co-creators in these two communities:
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