Can Link the Institutional Design of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to International Policy Instruments lead to PPPs external effectiveness? An Examination of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF)

Abstract

This paper examines whether linking the institutional design of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to international policy instruments lead to PPPs external effectiveness. To answer this question, I selected the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF) as a study case. GATF is an emerging PPP aimed at making international trade simple, fast and cost-effective while creating new business opportunities, enabling greater economic and social development and reduc-ing poverty across developing and least developed countries. While GATF’s current projects are still in progress, it has reported tangible output results aligned with the partnership’s institutional design comprising a roadmap of outcomes and impact results intended over the forthcoming years. Through an exhaustive desk-review of GATF’s annual reports and a general-knowledge interview directed to GATF staff members, I argue that GATF’s institutional design linked to the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at-tributes this partnership a significant potential to reap impact effectiveness. By analyzing GATF’s institutional design features according to conceptualization perspectives on PPPs effectiveness, I found that GATF offers a suitable institu-tional design model to attain both external and policy implementation effectiveness. While publicly available infor-mation on GATF’s structure and progress up to date support my findings, I stated the need for empirical assessments on GATF’s performance after its delivery process. Overall, GATF offers a good institutional design model for PPPs aimed at enabling enticing business environments for harnessing trade and investment strategies to advance sustainable devel-opment projects across the world.