The Impacts of Private Standards on Producers in Developing Countries: Literature review series on the impacts of private standards – part II

The question of how standards impact trade is more relevant than ever. Against the background of a world economy that is global in scope and organization with economic activities being spread across national boundaries, the liberalization of trade has been one factor contributing to a policy shift from import substitution to export-led growth strategies. This has resulted in the involvement of a large number of producers in export activities and in global or regional value chains. This paper presents the results of a systematic literature review of 47 research papers that assess the evidence regarding socioeconomic and environmental impact at the producer level in developing countries. It provides an overview of the methods used to collect and screen the literature, presents a descriptive analysis of the research, and reviews the findings of selected papers.