Ben Shepherd
Ben Shepherd is the Principal of Developing Trade Consultants Ltd. His work with international organizations and development agencies focuses on trade facilitation, trade in services, non-tariff measures, and governance. He holds a PhD in economics from SciencesPo Paris, and was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Princeton University.
Content by Ben Shepherd
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Blog post
Industrialising Africa: The role of services
Services play an increasingly large role in industrialisation and growth. In Africa, services, including intra-regional services trade, must be emphasised in industrialisation policy going forward. Africa has the opportunity to use the services sector to orient growth in a more sustainable and balanced way, as was in Asia, Europe, and North America earlier. The...
23 Nov 2022 | Ben Shepherd
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Publication - Working Paper
Regional economic spillovers from the South Sudanese civil war: Evidence from formal and informal cross border trade
This paper examines the impact of the South Sudanese civil war on trade in East Africa. In a first step, we employ a gravity model to examine the impact of civil conflict on the trade of neighbouring countries in a general sense and conduct a counterfactual simulation for the South Sudanese case.
20 May 2020 | Jakob Rauschendorfer, Ben Shepherd
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Project
Regional economic spillovers from the South Sudanese civil war: Evidence from formal and informal cross border trade
Just two and a half years after gaining independence in July 2011, South Sudan’s civil war broke out on the 15th of December 2013. Since then, the conflict has fuelled a humanitarian crisis resulting in devastating social and economic consequences. Beyond claiming tens of thousands of victims and leaving more than a third of the country’s population forcibly displaced,...
13 May 2020 | Jakob Rauschendorfer, Ben Shepherd
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Publication - Project Report
Technology demand and the role of South-South trade in Tanzania’s textiles and apparel: Examining linkages with India
25 Mar 2020 | Amrita Saha, Daniele Guariso, André Castro, Ben Shepherd
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Blog post
Tanzania’s textiles and apparel: Technology demand and the role of South-South trade
Technological progress and innovation are critical for long-term economic growth. Sub-Saharan Africa, however, continues to show huge productivity differentials, as firms operate with large gaps from available best practices in more advanced economies. Adopting and adaptation of more efficient and effective technology to the context and specificities of the local economy...
28 Jan 2020 | Amrita Saha, André Castro, Ben Shepherd , Daniele Guariso
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Project
Competitiveness analysis of the Rwanda textile industry
The National Industrial Research Development Agency (NIRDA) engaged a local consultant to gather data on the garments value chain with a view to analysing its competitiveness in an international perspective, and developing recommendations to support productivity upgrading. This project will make use of the data collected to design a framework for analysing and tracking...
10 Dec 2019 | Ben Shepherd , Anna Twum
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Project
Identifying pathways to economic development through India’s South-South knowledge transfers & exchange: evidence from cotton apparel in Tanzania
India’s intensified trade relations with Africa features as a key component of its model of South-South cooperation based on mutual partnerships. India’s trade with and investment in the African continent has grown in a major way, building on deep historical ties, especially with East Africa. Tanzania has emerged as a key partner, with promising potential in cotton...
20 Sep 2019 | Ben Shepherd , André Castro, Amrita Saha, Daniele Guariso
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Project
Review of Rwanda's industrial policy
This project responds to a request from the Government of Rwanda for advice in relation to the upcoming review of its industrial policy. The Government is keen to learn from experience with its existing industrial policy, and to use that insight to develop a range of interventions that can support rapid productivity growth and structural change over the 2050 time horizon....
15 Nov 2018 | Ben Shepherd , Anna Twum
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Publication - Project Report
Review of industrial policy in Rwanda: Data review, comparative assessment, and discussion points
15 Nov 2018 | Ben Shepherd , Anna Twum
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Publication - Working Paper
Reform of the EAC Common External Tariff: Evidence from trade costs
16 Nov 2017 | Ben Shepherd , Jaime de Melo, Ritwika Sen
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Project
Reform of the EAC Common External Tariff
The Common External Tariff (CET) of the East African Community (EAC) is due for potential reform in November 2017. Manufacturers associations in the large EAC countries are pressing for additional tariff bands and greater protection, with the stated aim of promoting backward linkages and value chain development. This direction is dangerous in a dynamic sense, as it sets the...
16 Nov 2017 | Ben Shepherd , Jaime de Melo, Ritwika Sen
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Project
Improving export performance in Uganda
Uganda is keen to leverage its external sector to support economic growth and employment creation through structural transformation. This has become increasingly urgent as commodity prices have levelled off and volumes have stagnated with the global slowdown. Policymakers need to establish a supportive environment within which the private sector can invest in exports. The...
23 Jan 2017 | Ben Shepherd
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Publication - Policy Brief
Uganda: Improving export performance (Policy paper)
23 Jan 2017 | Ben Shepherd
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Publication - Policy note
Uganda: Improving export performance (policy note)
12 Jan 2017 | Ben Shepherd
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Publication - Policy Brief
Services trade policies in the East African Community and merchandise exports
16 Jun 2016 | Bernard Hoekman, Ben Shepherd
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Publication - Working Paper
Services, firm performance, and exports: The case of the East African Community
6 Apr 2016 | Bernard Hoekman, Ben Shepherd
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Project
Services, firm performance, and exports
Recent research has analysed the links between services sector trade and investment policies and the impact of liberalisation of services trade barriers on the productivity of manufacturing. Francois and Hoekman (2010) and Christen, Francois, and Hoekman (2013) survey much of the extant literature in this area. This direction of research has revealed that sector-level...
4 Sep 2015 | Bernard Hoekman, Ben Shepherd
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Blog post
Reducing trade costs
The experience of East Asian countries as well as other economies that have successfully used trade to sustain high rates of economic growth over a long period illustrates the high payoff of efforts to lower formal trade costs. Specific efforts to reduce trade costs should become the of focus of international development cooperation
13 Mar 2015 | Bernard Hoekman, Ben Shepherd