A Review of Methods for Quantifying the Trade Effects of Standards in the Agri-Food Sector

This paper evaluates the different approaches to quantifying the trade impact of standards in theagri-food sector. The approaches discussed fall into two broad categories: ex post empirical estimationand ex ante simulation. Recent developments on the impact of standards on market segmentation are alsoexamined. Since both the level and design of a standard are important determinants of its impact, the mostsuitable choice of quantification strategy will depends on the characteristics of the standard itself. Forexample, ex ante simulation techniques are more appropriate when measuring the impact of complexstandards regimes. On the other hand, ex post empirical estimation is preferable when the level of thestandard is more important than its design.