TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine if the institutional quality of developing countries (DCs) and least-developed countries (LDCs) contributes to a significant increase in the utilization rate of the Swiss generalized system of preferences in the agro-food sector.Design/methodology/approach The authors use state of the art regression techniques accounting for zero values to identify if the institutional quality – separately depicted by the Worldwide Governance Indicators, the Index of Economic Freedom and the Human Development Index – can contribute in overcoming non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to trade.Findings The institutional quality exerts a consistent positive effect on the level of utilization of trade preferences.Research limitations/implications Swiss food trade represents, of course, only a very small share of world trade, therefore it would be worthwhile to extend the analysis to other countries and sectors.Practical implications Industrialized countries’ development policies should more strongly focus on capacity building in DCs and LDCs to strengthen trade-related institutions.Originality/value The study focuses on an often underemphasized element in international trade relations – the role of the institutional quality in overcoming NTBs to trade.
VL  - 45
IS  - 2
SN  - 0306-8293
DO  - 10.1108/IJSE-11-2016-0331
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-11-2016-0331
AU  - Ritzel Christian
AU  - Kohler Andreas
AU  - Mann Stefan
PY  - 2018
Y1  - 2018/01/01
TI  - Good governance and preferential trade: evidence from the Swiss generalized system of preferences
T2  - International Journal of Social Economics
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 259
EP  - 274
Y2  - 2024/05/05
ER  -