Thursday, May 26, 2016

The Tunis Business School, a member of the WTO’s Chairs Programme, organized a seminar on global value chains (GVCs) on 26 May. The event was attended by about 40 participants, including senior researchers, students and teachers as well as officials dealing with trade policy (such as the Executive Director of the Institute of Quantitative Studies, economists from the Institute, and representatives of the Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade and Crafts).
A WTO representative delivered two presentations for senior and junior researchers (PhD students) who are part of the Research Chairs Programme. The first presentation provided an overview of the new analytical and policy dimensions created by the emergence of global value chains. The second presentation covered measurement issues, with a particular emphasis on conducting enterprise surveys from a GVC perspective. This emphasis had been requested by researchers of the WTO Chairs Programme who wish to conduct business surveys and to develop a dedicated database. Other presentations delivered during the seminar dealt with GVCs and regional trade agreements, a diagnostic of GVCs in Tunisia and research into the geographical investment strategy of multinational enterprises.
Professor Baghdadi said that this seminar would help the Tunis Business School (TBS) to reframe its research projects in the light of what had been presented and discussed during the seminar. The lectures aimed at undergraduate students were well received, with the students finding the seminar complementary to the theoretical content of the TBS courses.
The first Advisory Board of the TBS Chair was also organized on the margins of this event. It was honoured with the presence of H.E. C. Bouden, Minister of Advanced Education and Scientific Research, and chaired by Mr H. Ben Hammouda, ex-Minister of Economy and Finance in Tunisia.
The advisory group included: Professor H. Ben Aziza, Dean of Tunis University; Ms Fatma Brahim, Director of the WTO department at the Ministry of Trade; Mr Elyes Lakhal, Deputy Director in charge of cooperation with economic and financial international organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ms A. Bouchamaoui, Chair of the Tunis-US Chamber of Commerce; Professor P. Augier, Director of FEMISE (Forum Euroméditerranéen des Instituts de Sciences Économiques) and Professor D. Mirza, Tours University and CEPII (Centre d'Études Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales). The WTO was represented by Hubert Escaith, Chief Statistician. The Board discussed the activities of the Chair and made recommendations to ensure its longer-term sustainability.