Lessons from Trade Policy Research

Global challenges, from the climate crisis to digitalisation, are faced by businesses as well as governments and international organisations such as the WTO and the OECD. Responding to these challenges requires large-scale co-operation and shared development goals. Co-operation on global trade and trade governance are no exception. Thus, there is a need for an in-depth understanding of the international trade and investment landscape and, in light of this, how recent shifts in the patterns of globalisation present a major challenge to traditional trade policy systems. It is necessary to develop new knowledge that helps to identify the implications of these trends on the links between trade, international business and development. This chapter gives an overview of the development of research on trade policy, with a particular focus on the international business studies perspective. It will highlight the main contributions and identify key themes. The chapter reflects on the development of trade policy as a phenomenon and the academic research related to it. Thus, the chapter contributes to the increasing interest in policy-related studies within international business research, with an emphasis on the role that international business scholarship can play in the development of new knowledge that is relevant to global trade-related policymaking.