Swiss News

This paper investigates the impact of aid for trade (AfT) targeted at trade policies on the participation of recipient countries in global value chains (GVCs), and how this impact varies with their prevailing political regimes. In democratic countries, the need for the authorities to account for the interests of various stakeholders (e.g., lobbies, trade unions) can compromise the allocation, use, and effectiveness of AfT. In contrast, less democratic regimes are typically more insulated from political pressures, which may lead to more effective outcomes of aid. At the same time, integration into some complex GVCs requires efficient and democratic institutions, to which these products are sensitive. Employing a sample of 110 countries and data covering 2002-2018, we control for standard determinants of GVC participation, while examining the effect of AfT and the moderating role of the political regime in place. Our estimation addresses the endogeneity of aid through an appropriate instrumentation strategy. Our results suggest that the effect of AfT is mostly positive in autocratic regimes, indicating more effective trade policy reforms. When we account for regional disparities, we find evidence that AfT for trade policy is also impactful in some democratic regimes. This might suggest that the efficacy of AfT is not strictly regime-dependent, but hinges on the government’s commitment to carry out significant reforms leading to greater participation in the global economy.

This paper investigates the impact of aid for trade (AfT) targeted at trade policies on the participation of recipient countries in global value chains (GVCs), and how this impact varies with their prevailing political regimes. In democratic countries, the need for the authorities to account for the interests of various stakeholders (e.g., lobbies, trade unions) can compromise the allocation, use, and effectiveness of AfT. In contrast, less democratic regimes are typically more insulated from political pressures, which may lead to more effective outcomes of aid. At the same time, integration into some complex GVCs requires efficient and democratic institutions, to which these products are sensitive. Employing a sample of 110 countries and data covering 2002-2018, we control for standard determinants of GVC participation, while examining the effect of AfT and the moderating role of the political regime in place. Our estimation addresses the endogeneity of aid through an appropriate instrumentation strategy. Our results suggest that the effect of AfT is mostly positive in autocratic regimes, indicating more effective trade policy reforms. When we account for regional disparities, we find evidence that AfT for trade policy is also impactful in some democratic regimes. This might suggest that the efficacy of AfT is not strictly regime-dependent, but hinges on the government’s commitment to carry out significant reforms leading to greater participation in the global economy.

This paper investigates the impact of aid for trade (AfT) targeted at trade policies on the participation of recipient countries in global value chains (GVCs), and how this impact varies with their prevailing political regimes. In democratic countries, the need for the authorities to account for the interests of various stakeholders (e.g., lobbies, trade unions) can compromise the allocation, use, and effectiveness of AfT. In contrast, less democratic regimes are typically more insulated from political pressures, which may lead to more effective outcomes of aid. At the same time, integration into some complex GVCs requires efficient and democratic institutions, to which these products are sensitive. Employing a sample of 110 countries and data covering 2002-2018, we control for standard determinants of GVC participation, while examining the effect of AfT and the moderating role of the political regime in place. Our estimation addresses the endogeneity of aid through an appropriate instrumentation strategy. Our results suggest that the effect of AfT is mostly positive in autocratic regimes, indicating more effective trade policy reforms. When we account for regional disparities, we find evidence that AfT for trade policy is also impactful in some democratic regimes. This might suggest that the efficacy of AfT is not strictly regime-dependent, but hinges on the government’s commitment to carry out significant reforms leading to greater participation in the global economy.

European Council President, António Costa, had a meeting with President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, on 4 September 2026, in Nicosia, Cyprus. The meeting is part of President Costa's annual "Tour des Capitales".

European Council President, António Costa, had a meeting with Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on 3 September 2026, in Athens, Greece. The meeting is part of President Costa's annual "Tour des Capitales".

European Council President, António Costa, had a meeting with Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, on 3 September 2026, in Sofia, Bulgaria. The meeting is part of President Costa's annual "Tour des Capitales".

Az új uniós vámügyi keret korszerűbb eszköztárat biztosít a hatóságok számára a felmerülő kihívások és a kirajzolódó tendenciák – például az e-kereskedelem térnyerése – kezeléséhez.

European Council President, António Costa, had a meeting with President of Romania, Nicușor Dan, on 3 September 2026, in Bucharest, Romania. The meeting is part of President Costa's annual "Tour des Capitales".

European Council President, António Costa, had a meeting with Prime Minister of Croatia, Andrej Plenković, on 2 September 2026, in Zagreb, Croatia. The meeting is part of President Costa's annual "Tour des Capitales".

A Tanács támogatta a Bizottság azon javaslatát, hogy ideiglenes kereskedelemliberalizációs intézkedéseket vezessenek be az örmény export támogatása és az EU–Örményország kereskedelmi kapcsolatok megerősítése érdekében.

European Council President António Costa met the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Luc Frieden, on 2 September 2026, in Luxembourg. The meeting is part of President Costa's annual ‘Tour des Capitales’ visits to EU capital cities.

Information about accreditation requirements for the one-year badge (2026)

The European Council will take place on 15 and 16 October 2026 in the Europa building in Brussels.

A főképviselőnek az Európai Unió nevében tett nyilatkozata egyes országoknak az Ukrajna területi integritását, szuverenitását és függetlenségét aláásó vagy fenyegető intézkedések miatti korlátozó intézkedésekhez történő csatlakozásáról

Weekly schedule of President António Costa, 31 August-6 September 2026.

António Costa, az Európai Tanács elnöke folytatja az uniós tagállamokba tett látogatásait, melyek keretében a tagállami vezetőkkel találkozik.

European Council President, António Costa, had a meeting with Prime Minister of Czech Republic, Andrej Babiš, on 27 August 2026, in Prague, Czech Republic. The meeting is part of President Costa's annual "Tour des Capitales".

Pour sa première participation à la phase finale de la Coupe du monde féminine U20, le Bénin a obtenu un nul 2-2 face au Mexique, samedi 5 septembre 2026 à Katowice, en Pologne.

Menées 1-0 à la 21e minute, les Amazones du Bénin ont concédé un deuxième but signé A. Saldivar à la 51e minute.

Le Bénin a toutefois réagi rapidement. Romaine Gandonou a réduit l'écart sur penalty à la 56e minute, avant de remettre les deux équipes à égalité (2-2) à la 87e minute.

Le Bénin évolue dans le groupe A aux côtés du Mexique, de l'Argentine et de la Pologne, pays hôte. La phase de groupes se déroule du 5 au 13 septembre.

Après le Mexique, les Amazones affronteront l'Argentine mardi 8 septembre à Katowice, avant de conclure la phase de groupes contre la Pologne vendredi 11 septembre à Bielsko-Biała.

Les deux premières équipes de chaque groupe ainsi que les quatre meilleurs troisièmes accéderont aux huitièmes de finale.
M. M.

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TIRAGE N°106/26

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