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Amrita Narlikar has made a systematic analysis of developing countries' coalition and bargaining strategies in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) which has provided practitioners with an analytic toolkit to navigate complex political economy issues. Key negotiators refer to this work as they develop their coalition strategies, thus helping with the empowerment of developing countries. Expert attempts to reform the WTO have utilised the institutional analysis conducted. The value of the research is recognized by practitioners from developing countries and by others aiming to resolve multilateral deadlocks.
Research by the School's Centre for Research on Economic Development and International Trade (CREDIT) on the relative importance of trade policy and non-trade policy barriers (especially high transport costs) in determining international trade costs and export performance in Africa has directly influenced the design of the national trade policies of Uganda and Kenya. It has also contributed to shaping changes in the policy guidance given by agencies such as the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), the African Development Bank and Commonwealth Secretariat about the need for developing countries to use appropriate, complementary non-trade policies to improve the effectiveness of trade reforms and policies in developing countries (in particular in Africa). Specifically, the research has contributed to a body of evidence about the need to increase the emphasis given to trade facilitation and transport infrastructure in African trade policy reforms, which has in turn informed trade policy design and implementation in a number of African countries.
Dr Stephen Woolcock's research on EU trade and trade policy, with particular focus on free trade agreements, underpins the work of the LSE's International Trade Policy Unit (ITPU). On the basis of this research, the ITPU was granted a framework contract to provide expert analysis on trade and trade-related topics for the European Parliament's International Trade Committee (INTA). ITPU input has subsequently stimulated and informed debate within the European Parliament and shaped EU policy on free trade agreements.
Liam Campling's (Lecturer in Work and Organisation at QMUL since 2009) research on the global tuna industry, the international trade regime and developing countries, and his ongoing policy collaboration with development agencies, trade unions and NGOs (a combination of commissioned and pro-bono work), has contributed to three sets of impacts: (1) influencing trade policy, regulation and legislation to support developing countries, including at the WTO; (2) improving labour conditions in tuna processing facilities in Papua New Guinea (PNG); and, (3) influencing public debate and understanding of fisheries industry and policy.
Trade and finance are the lifeblood of the global economy. Research conducted within the International Political Economy (IPE) cluster has tracked changes in how trade and finance are governed. This case study demonstrates the impact of the IPE cluster on a range of beneficiaries including national governments, international organisations and non-governmental organisations. Via the £4.3M ESRC-funded Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation (CSGR), members of the IPE cluster have influenced national economic policies, shaped policy debates on international regulatory regimes and informed the attempts of non-state actors to raise ethical standards in transnational corporate practices.