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Trade Policy Impact Assessment Using ISIC Classifications

January 8, 2017

Kristan

ISIC

0

Trade policy—whether in the form of tariffs, free trade agreements, or targeted quotas—has always been a lever with far-reaching consequences. Policymakers know this, of course. The challenge isn’t so much in appreciating the complexity as in making sense of it—quantifying winners, losers, and unintended consequences. In this regard, the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) system […]

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Evaluating Export Promotion Programs with ISIC Trade Statistics

December 17, 2016

Kristan

ISIC

0

Export promotion is often viewed as both art and science—a complex blend of relationship-building, market intelligence, incentives, and trade facilitation. But measuring the real impact of these efforts requires a sharper, more objective lens. Increasingly, export promotion agencies are turning to the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) system as the backbone of their performance measurement […]

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Analyzing 2010 Financial Tech Startups with ISIC 6201

December 5, 2016

Kristan

ISIC

0

There is a persistent, often unspoken challenge for economists who want to track the earliest phase of any new industry. Financial technology—what everyone now simply calls fintech—offers a prime example. In 2010, the sector was barely defined, let alone properly categorized. If you were tasked, as I once was, to quantify new fintech startups from […]

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ISIC 3510 in 2010: Mapping Geothermal Power Plants in Iceland

October 25, 2016

Kristan

ISIC

0

There's something quietly satisfying about tracking the growth of renewable energy, especially in places where the geography itself seems to demand innovation. Iceland, with its restless tectonic seams and plumes of steam rising across the landscape, offers a unique case for those interested in geothermal energy. If you want to quantify the sector's development in [...]

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ISIC Codes and Corporate Tax Auditing

October 21, 2016

Kristan

ISIC

0

The business of corporate tax auditing is, at its heart, a balancing act ensuring compliance without stifling entrepreneurship, targeting evasion without wasting resources on compliant firms. In this delicate equation, the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) system has emerged as an unexpectedly powerful tool for tax authorities around the world. By linking company activity to [...]

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Germany’s Constitutional Court Approves the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement

October 13, 2016

Daisy

Economic Development, Germany, News

0

The International Trade Council is pleased to announce that the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has received a significant boost from Germany’s Constitutional Court.   The court has cleared the path for the German government to endorse the trade agreement between the EU and Canada, which bolsters the deal’s chances of obtaining approval in […]

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Documenting 2009 Blockchain R&D via ISIC 7210

September 10, 2016

Kristan

ISIC

0

Attempting to map the first stirrings of blockchain research is, in some ways, an exercise in patience. By 2009, the concept was barely on the radar for most research institutions. Bitcoin's white paper had just started circulating, and outside a handful of cryptography forums, few recognized how transformative distributed ledgers might become. For statisticians and [...]

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ISIC 6201 in 2009: Growth of Offshored Web Services

July 30, 2016

Kristan

ISIC

0

Measuring the growth of offshored web services in 2009 presents a familiar challenge for anyone who has worked with economic classifications. ISIC 6201, covering computer programming activities, is both a window and a wall it opens up a dataset of remarkable breadth but throws up barriers when it comes to specificity. In the late 2000s, [...]

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Mapping 2008 Renewable Energy Subsidies Impact via ISIC 3510

June 15, 2016

Kristan

ISIC

0

Examining the effect of policy instruments such as feed-in tariffs on renewable energy capacity has always been a task of both enthusiasm and frustration for statisticians and economists. The 2008 wave of subsidies, designed to jump-start investment in solar and wind power, produced a flurry of new entrants and a patchwork of output gains, but [...]

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ISIC 8621 in 2008: Early Telemedicine Trials in the US

May 1, 2016

Kristan

ISIC

0

Tracking the early expansion of telemedicine in the United States brings out the complexity inherent in using formal classification systems to study innovation. ISIC 8621 "General medical practice activities‚" is as close as the system gets to designating telehealth services, yet it is a category that predates widespread adoption of digital health tools and, predictably, [...]

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Analyzing 2007 Broadband Expansion via ISIC 6312

March 20, 2016

Kristan

ISIC

0

Capturing the pace and pattern of broadband expansion in 2007 means contending with both the promise and the imperfections of economic classification systems. ISIC 6312, which refers to web portal activities, offers a pragmatic-if imprecise-starting point for analysts trying to quantify the proliferation of broadband services. In those years, many companies providing access, aggregation, and [...]

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ISIC 8621 in 2007: Telemedicine Policies in Canada

February 10, 2016

Kristan

ISIC

0

Studying the evolution of telemedicine in Canada means working within the constraints of existing economic classifications, often pushing them in directions their designers probably never intended. ISIC 8621, which covers general medical practice activities, was not devised with digital health in mind, yet it provides the best entry point for tracking organizational change tied to [...]

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Oil Prices Plunge to Lowest Levels in Over a Decade

January 6, 2016

Daisy

International Trade, News

0

The International Trade Council notes a significant downturn in global oil prices, which have reached their lowest point in more than 11 years. This shift in the oil market is attributed to an ongoing diplomatic dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran, quelling speculation that OPEC members may agree on production cutbacks to boost prices. Crude […]

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Documenting 2006 Nanotech R&D Using ISIC 7210

December 5, 2015

Kristan

ISIC

0

Tracing the contours of nanotechnology research and development in 2006 is a task that highlights both the promise and the ambiguity of classification systems. ISIC 7210, which covers research and development in natural sciences and engineering, offers a natural starting point. Yet it is a category capacious enough to house everything from biotechnology to climate [...]

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UK and India Seal Trade Deals Worth €12.7 Billion During Prime Minister Modi’s Visit

November 13, 2015

Daisy

India, News, Trade Agreements, United Kingdom

0

The International Trade Council is pleased to announce that the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has received a significant boost from Germany’s Constitutional Court. The court has cleared the path for the German government to endorse the trade agreement between the EU and Canada, which bolsters the deal’s chances of obtaining approval in the […]

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ISIC 6201 in 2006: Emergence of Mobile App Development

October 25, 2015

Kristan

ISIC

0

The landscape of technology in 2006 now seems impossibly quaint. Smartphones were on the cusp of something transformative, but not yet ubiquitous. The word "app," as a distinct product category, had only just started to slip into mainstream use. For economists or statisticians interested in tracking this early moment when mobile app studios began to [...]

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