13.11.2008
Recent economic research at the World Bank shows that Far East would likely be one of the three regions to gain the most from WTO accession and this is due largely to the potentially greater Foreign Direct Investments in services (e.g., all modes of transport, telecom etc.). The size of the potential gain is significant: these estimates suggest that Far East could raise its total consumption and GDP per capita by about 10% a and international exports by 11% a few years after the WTO accession. A 10% increase in the annual volume of trade in the Far East is associated with a 3 percentage points higher annual growth in the Gross Regional Product. Returns to unskilled and skilled labor would be highest from among the regions that were subject of the study. Additional, successful infrastructure investments that improve connectivity with markets would help further raise productivity of the Far East economy, thereby increasing incomes and standards of living of its population.
The Russian Far East clearly has great potential, and the world will see this at the 2012 APEC meeting. For its part, the World Bank stands ready to help. WB can be of assistance at three levels, in line with our current strategy of partnership with the Russian Federation: local level, regional level, international level.
Source: World Bank
