About the product
This handbook is a reference in preparation of analysis of already available merchandise trade statistical information for assessment of various trade issues, discussion on negotiating positions and ultimately for conducting consultations. It consists of seven chapters that: 1) cover some basic data and notation issues that are common to all of the following chapters, as well as issues of data cleaning and practicalities of calculations, 2) cover definitions, formulae and some calculations for illustrative purposes for selected ESCAP economies of the trade indicators, 3) discuss measures of openness (or protection) at national, regional or global level and offers some indicators commonly used in this area, and 4) conclude with a forward-looking discussion of tools which allow further analysis, enabling more solid answers to “why?” type questions.
