Research

In recent years, the trend toward non-tariff measures (NTMs), particularly technical barriers to trade (TBT), has raised concerns about the potential negative impacts on the benefits of trade liberalization linked to technology adoption. The objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of restrictive TBTs introduced by India on firms’ decision to adopt technology. By matching a database of TBT measures that were raised as concerns at the WTO (Specific Trade Concerns –STCs) with a panel dataset of Indian firms from 1996-2005, this study finds that an increase in restrictive TBTs on inputs reduce the likelihood of firms importing capital goods and upgrading foreign technology. However, these TBTs increase the probability of firms investing in domestic R&D. The results suggest that, in this context, firms tend to substitute foreign inputs with domestic ones to comply with regulations and avoid potential trade barriers. 

A public development bank (PDB), like any other bank, serves as a financial intermediary, but with a strong developmental role. This paper provides an overview of PDBs in Egypt. The latter is of particular interest for two reasons. First, while PDBs have a long history in the Egyptian economy, their roles and interventions are rather limited. This applies to banks that were created during the socialist era of Former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Second, the largest share of PDB-related projects implemented in Egypt is undertaken by government-owned commercial banks, namely the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, and Banque du Caire. Thus, the objective of this paper is twofold: first, to analyze how and why the role of PDBs can be played by public banks; and second, to highlight the lessons that can be learned from the resilience of the Egyptian financial systems to the succession of crises/disruptions. 

• Fouad, J., Said, M., Sherif, W., & Zaki, C. (2022) . Public Banks and Development in Egypt: Overview, Issues and the Way Forward. Economic Research Forum (ERF)