Over the past year the eBay Public Policy Lab released five reports that examined the trade and growth patterns of enterprises using the eBay Marketplace. As in previous years, irrespective of where in the world we look, our data reveals that micro and small businesses are leveraging the online commerce platform to engage in expansive commerce, often on a global scale. We actively encourage international institutions, NGOs, and think tanks to use the eBay data published in our reports to bolster the case that a new internet-enabled, platform-based inclusive model of trade has emerged, for which there is no historical precedent. This offers tremendous support to our efforts to highlight and remove barriers faced by micro and small businesses operating their enterprises on eBay. In 2016, eBay trade data was heavily utilized and included in a number of high profile reports, which included:
Maximizing the Opportunities of the Internet for International Trade: A report published by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development and World Economic Forum as part of The E15 Initiative. The paper examines the challenges and opportunities that growth of the digital economy creates for trade and development. It also identifies constraints and possible improvements in the global trade system to enhance benefits from the digital economy. The paper includes a set of policy options for improved governance of international trade in a digital world.
World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends: The World Bank annually publishes a World Development Report which provides in-depth analysis of a specific aspect of economic development. The 2016 Report on Digital Dividends assembles the best available evidence on the Internet’s potential impact on economic growth, on equity, and on the efficiency of public service provision. The report analyzes what factors have allowed some governments, firms and households to benefit from the Internet, and identify the barriers that limit gains elsewhere.
Digital Globalization: The New Era of Global Flows: A report published by the McKinsey Global Institute assessed the network of cross-border inflows and outflows of trade, services, finance, people, and data and its influence on economic growth. The report provides a detailed analysis of how global flows are continuing to evolve. It offers new insights into how companies and countries are participating in the web of flows and extends our econometric analysis, drawing on improved data and employing more sophisticated methodology.
World Trade Report 2016: Leveling the Trading Field for SMEs: The World Trade Organizations annually publishes a World Trade Report, which aims to deepen understanding about trends in trade, trade policy issues and the multilateral trading system. The 2016 Report examines the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in international trade, how the international trade landscape is changing for SMEs, and what the multilateral trading system does and can do to encourage more widespread and inclusive SME participation in global markets.
The eBay Government Relations team understands the importance of creating new and compelling content to tell the unique stories of eBay micro and small businesses and will continue to publish new material in 2017.