The issues of transparency and regulatory reform are becoming increasingly important in a development context. As one example, a report prepared by the World Bank for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2007 under this Trust Fund suggests that improving transparency could boost trade significantly, by at least 7% or $148 billion. Elimination of “hidden” trade barriers and control of unofficial payments are highlighted as areas in which improvements could be particularly beneficial.
National development policies are increasingly incorporating measures designed to increase transparency and improve governance as major elements of overall strategies. At the same time, capacity building efforts in these areas are receiving greater attention from donors, both bilaterally and through multilateral programs.
In order to ensure that resources are allocated so as to maximize development impact, policymakers in donor and beneficiary economies alike therefore need to have access to rigorous policy-relevant analysis that sets out the costs and benefits of different reform scenarios. It is also important that they be aware of the cross-cutting nature of transparency, which reflects a wide range of economic incentives and regulatory practices that together provide a context in which corruption can be controlled.
The Transparency and Competitiveness Trust Fund aims to contribute to the above process by highlighting the links in a development context between transparency, regulatory reform, good governance, and competitiveness. More specifically, the program will develop datasets and indicators, collect new data, and provide analytical tools to promote development through increased transparency, regulatory reform, and related development issues, such as technology capacity and competitiveness. A major part of this initiative will be through knowledge sharing and dissemination based on concrete examples at the national, regional, and global levels.
Work on Transparency and Trade Facilitation in the Asia Pacific region is supported by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) through the Australian Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
Last updated on Aug 2, 2010