John S. Wilson (economist)

John S. Wilson is a Lead Economist in the Development Economics Research Group of the World Bank. Wilson manages research on transparency, trade facilitation, regulation, and economic development. This includes the World Bank’s main research initiative on trade facilitation, [http://econ.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=1697684&pagePK=64168176&piPK=64168140&theSitePK=1697658 Trade Costs and Facilitation: The Development Dimension] . [http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/EXTPROGRAMS/EXTTRADERESEARCH/EXTTRADECOSTANDFACILITATION/0,,contentMDK:20696563~menuPK:1743267~pagePK:64168182~piPK:64168060~theSitePK:1697658,00.html]

Background

Wilson was born in Lakewood, Ohio and graduated from The College of Wooster in 1978 where he was a seven time All American (NCAA Division III) in swimming. He graduated from Columbia University in New York in 1984 with a Master's Degree in International Affairs.

Career

Wilson joined the World Bank in 1999 and spent two years in the Bank’s Infrastructure Vice Presidency. He has provided expertise in lending operations and has worked on projects in the Latin America, Africa, Middle East and North Africa, and Eastern and Central European regions. Wilson has worked on Bank projects under preparation and completed totaling over $1.3 billion. During his tenure at the World Bank, he suggested the establishment of a new global initiative to assist developing countries in sanitary and phytosanitary standards to promote trade. This led to the creation of the inter-agency [http://www.standardsfacility.org/ Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF)] .

Prior to joining the World Bank, Wilson was Vice President for Technology Policy at the [http://www.itic.org/ Information Technology Industry Council] in Washington, D.C. from 1995-99. At ITI Wilson was a corporate officer and member of the senior management team. He had management responsibility and budget responsibility for regulatory affairs standards, and technical trade barriers. During this period he was on the U.S. Steering Committee for the [http://www.tabd.com/ Transatlantic Business Dialogue] and involved in preparations for extension of the Information Technology Agreement of the WTO to non-tariff barriers to trade related to standards and regulation.

Mr. Wilson has also been a Visiting Fellow at the [http://www.iie.com/ Institute for International Economics] . He was also a Senior Staff Officer at the [http://www.nationalacademies.org/ U.S. National Academies of Sciences and Engineering and National Research Council] . While at the Academies, he provided leadership in establishing the Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy and directed Management responsibilities include finance and supervision of professional staff. Duties included congressional, executive branch, private sector, and liaison with foreign governments. Directed several major policy studies, including; policy dialogues for the White House National Economic Council (NEC) on the economics of U.S. technology policy, the 1995 report [http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=030905236X Standards, Conformity Assessment, and Trade: Into the 21st Century] at the request of the U.S. Congress, and the "Technology and Industrial Modernization of the Mexican Economy" project.

From 1989 to 1992, designed and directed the Academies’ research project on Civilian Technology. Responsible for economic analysis and writing of final report, as well as financial, and staff management. The project, requested by the U.S. Congress in the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, resulted in the book: [http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309046300 The Government Role in Civilian Technology: Building a New Alliance] , published by the National Academy Press in 1992. The report provided detailed analysis and policy recommendations related to the economic returns to government investment in civilian R&D, industrial technology development and transfer.

Wilson was an Adjunct Professor of International Affairs at Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service during 1993-94 He developed and taught a course on "International Technology and Corporate Strategy," Karl F. Landegger Program on International Business Diplomacy, Graduate School and also co-taught a course on “Technology Policy and Economic Competitiveness.”

Selected publications

Chapters in Books

“Cutting Trade Costs and Improved Business Facilitation in South Asia,” with Tsunehiro Otsuki, in South Asia Growth and Regional Integration, Sadiq Ahmed and Ejaz Ghani. New Dehli: Macmillan India Ltd. 2007.

"Trade Faciltiation Reform and International Trade. The Case of Mexico." With A. Mejia and Isidro Soloaga, in A. Ortega Venzor, J.L. Paz Vega and R. Nuñez Gonzalez, eds.,Políticas Públicas para el Crecimiento y Desarrollo. Mexico City: Editorial Porrua SA de CV. 2007.

"Introduction: A Review of Key Issues" with Spencer Henson, in Spencer Henson and John S. Wilson, eds, The WTO and Technical Barriers to Trade. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited 2005.

"Trade Facilitation and Standards in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Overiew.,” with Victor O. Abiola, in John S. Wilson and Victor Abiola, eds, Standards and Trade: A Voice for Africa. Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 2003.

"Standards, Regulation and Trade: WTO Rules and Developing Country Concerns." In Bernard Hoekman, Philip English, Aaditiya Mattoo, eds., Development, Trade and the WTO: A Handbook. Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 2002.

“An Empirical Framework for Analyzing Technical Regulations and Trade" with Keith Maskus and Tsunehiro Otsuki, in,Quantifying the Impact of Technical Barriers to Trade: Can It Be Done? Keith Maskus and John S. Wilson (eds.): University of Michigan Press. 2001.

"A Review of Past Attempts and the New Policy Context,” with Keith Maskus in Quantifying the Impact of Technical Barriers to Trade: Can It Be Done?. Keith Maskus and John S. Wilson (eds.): University of Michigan Press. 2001.

“Regulatory Reform, Trade, and Telecommunications Goods and Services,” in Regulatory Reform in the Global Economy: Asian and Latin American Perspectives (Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), June 1998

"Technical Regulations and Trade: New Developments and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum”, in John R. McIntyre ed., Japan’s Technical Standards: Implications for Global Trade and Competitiveness (Greenwood Publishing), 1997

“Telecommunications Liberalization: The Goods and Services Connection” in Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Erika Wada ed., Unfinished Business: Telecommunications after the Uruguay Round (Institute for International Economics), 1997.

“Standards, Conformity Assessment, and Trade: New Developments and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum,” in R. Hooley, M. Dutta, A. Nasution, and M. Pangestu ed., Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation: Theory and Policy (Greenwich CT: JAI Press Inc.), 1996

Eliminating Barriers to Trade in Telecommunications and Information Technology Goods and Services: Next Steps in Multilateral and Regional Liberalization Efforts,” in Regulatory Reform and International Market Openness (Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), November 1996.

“Technology and Industrial Modernization in Mexico," in Aspectos Tecnologicos de la Modernizacion Industrial de Mexico (Fundo de Cultura Economica), March 1995.

Edited Volumes

The WTO and Technical Barriers to Trade. Editor with Spencer Henson, Edward Elgar, 2005.

Standards and Global Trade: A Voice for Africa. Editor with Victor O. Abiloa, Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 2003.

Quantifying the Impact of Technical Barriers to Trade: Can It Be Done, Editor with Keith Maskus, Studies in International Economics Series , Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press 2001.

Journal Articles

“Standards and Export Decisions: Firm-level Evidence from Developing Countries,” with Maggie Chen and Tsunehiro Otsuki, Journal of International Trade and Economic Development, forthcoming.

"Road Infrastructure in Europe and Central Asia: Does Network Quality Affect Trade?” With Benjamin A.Shepherd, Journal of Economic Integration, Vol. 22, No. 4, December 2007, pp. 723-747.

“Standards and Developing Country Exports: A Review of Selected Studies and Suggestions for Future Research, Journal of Agricultural Trade and International Development, Volume 4, No. 1, 2007, pp. 35-45..

"Implementing a Trade Facilitation Agreement in the WTO: What Makes Sense?”. With J. Michael Finger., Pacific Economic Review 12(3): 5-355, 2007.

"Assessing the Benefits of Trade Facilitation: A Global Perspective,” with Tsunehiro Otsuki and Catherine L. Mann, World Economy 28(6): 841-871, 2005.

“To Spray or Not to Spray: Pesticides, Banana Exports, and Food Safety."with Tsunehiro Otsuki. Food Policy 29(2): 131-146, 2004.

“Balancing Food Safety and Risk: Do Drug Residue Limits Affect Trade in Beef?” with Bashali Majumdsar and Tsunehiro Otsuki, Journal of International Trade and Economic Development, Volume 12 (4) pp. 377-402, 2003.

“Trade Facilitation and Economic Development: A New Approach to Measuring the Impact.” Wilson, John S., Catherine Mann, and Tsunehiro Otsuki, World Bank Economic Review 17(3): 367-389, 2003.

"Food Safety and Trade: Winners and Losers in a Non-Harmonized World." With Tsunehiro Otsuki, Journal of Economic Integration 18(2): 266-287, 2003.

"Trade and Standards: A Look at Central America" with . Gary Clyde Hufbauer and , Barbara Kotschwar, The World Economy, Vol. 25, pp. 991-1018, 2002.

"Saving Two in a Billion: Quantifying the Trade Effect of European Food Safety Standards on African Exports." With Tsunehiro Otsuki and Mirvat Sewadeh, Food Policy, #26, 2001.

"What Price Precaution? European Harmonization of Aflatoxin Regulations and African Food Exports.” With Tsunehior Otsuki, and Mirvat Sewadeh, European Review of Agricultural Economics 28, 2001.

"The New Trade Agenda: Technology, Standards, and Technical Barriers," SAIS Review, 16(1), 1996.

Other Publications and Selected Dissemination of Research

"Trade Facilitation and Development,” in Princeton Encyclopedia of the World Economy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, forthcoming.

"Technical Barriers to Trade,” in Princeton Encyclopedia of the World Economy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, forthcoming.

Transparency and Trade Facilitation in the Asia Pacific: Estimating the Gains from Reform. Barton, A.C.T.: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with Benjamin A., Shepherd and Matthias Helble. 2007.

“Trade Facilitation: Challenges and Opportunities in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union,” in From Disintegration to Reintegration: Europe and the Former Soviet Union in International Trade, World Bank 2006.

“Trade Facilitation Reform and Competitiveness,” Competitiveness,” with Isidro Soloaga and A Mejia, in Mexico Competitiveness: Reaching its Potential, World Bank, March 2006.

“Reducing Transport Costs in an Era of Security”, with Shweta Bagai, Carsten Fink, in Global Economic Prospects 2004: Realizing the Development Promise of the Doha Agenda- Chapter Five (The World Bank), 2003.“Trade Facilitation: A Development Perspective in the Asia-Pacific Region Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation,” with Catherine Mann, Yuen Pau Woo, Nizar Assanie and Inbom Choi, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, 2002.

“Bridging the Standards Divide: Recommendations for Reform from a Development Perspective,” background paper, The World Development Report 2002: Building Institutions for Markets, The World Bank, September 2001.Cutting through Red Tape: New Directions for APEC's Trade Facilitation Agenda, with Yuen Pau Woo, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada,Vancouver: APEC, 2000.

“Regulatory Reform, Trade, and Telecommunications Goods and Services,” in Regulatory Reform in the Global Economy: Asian and Latin American Perspectives (Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), June 1998

Additional details on publications and research in progress is available at: http://www.worldbank.org/trade.