Capacity-Building to Meet International Standards as Public Goods

As the world becomes increasingly globalized, the role of national borders is changing and the governance of markets can no longer be seen as a local matter. This paper looks at one aspect of market governance, the provision of standards and the capacity to deal with standards for the global market, with particular reference to sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, which deal with food safety, animal health and plant protection. Standards are part of the architecture within which markets operate. On the face of it, they are quintessentially "public goods." According to economic theory, they may be undersupplied, especially if the costs of provision are borne in one market and some of the benefits fall elsewhere. This paper seeks to analyse the role played by standards and standards-related activities both in the world economy and in the process of economic development.