Harnessing Quality for Global Competitiveness in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

by Racine, Jean-louis

• ISBN13: 9780821385098
• ISBN10: 0821385097
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-05-05
• Publisher: World Bank Publications

Summary

Standards are everywhere, yet go mostly unnoticed. They define how products, processes, and people interact, assessing these entities#xE2;#xAC;" features and performance and signaling their level of quality and reliability. They can convey important benefits to trade, productivity, and technological progress and play an important role in the health and safety of individual consumers and the environment. Firms#xE2;#xAC;" ability to produce competitive products depends on the availability of adequate quality-support services. A #xE2;#xAC;Snational quality infrastructure#xE2;#xAC; denotes the chain of public and private services (standardization, metrology, inspection, testing, certification, and accreditation) needed to ascertain that products and services introduced in the marketplace meet defined requirements, whether demanded by authorities or by consumers.In much of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, national quality infrastructure systems are underdeveloped and not harmonized with those of their trading partners. This imbalance increases trade costs, hinders local firms#xE2;#xAC;" competitiveness, and weakens overall export performance.The objective of Harnessing Quality for Global Competitiveness in Eastern Europe and Central Asia is to highlight the need to reform and modernize the institutions in the region toward better quality and standards. The book ties in with much of the work done in the World Bank on the business environment, trade facilitation, economic diversification, and enterprise innovation. The countries in the region can improve this situation, revising mandatory standards, streamlining technical regulations, and harmonizing their national quality infrastructure with those of regional and international trade partners. Most governments will need to invest strategically in their national quality infrastructure, including pooling services with neighboring countries and stimulating local awareness and demand for quality. Specifically for the countries of the former Soviet Union, the restructuring process will need to improve governance, thus eliminating conflicts of interest and providing technically credible services to the economy.

Table of Contents

Contributors	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xvii
Acronyms and Abbreviations	p. xix
Definitions of Country Groups and Comparisons	p. xxiii
Executive Summary	p. 1
Support by the National Quality Infrastructure of a Country's Global Competitiveness	p. 2
The Government's Role in the National Quality Infrastructure	p. 5
Business Competitiveness and the National Quality Infrastructure	p. 6
Restructuring and Improved Governance of the National Quality Infrastructure	p. 7
More Competitive ECA Countries	p. 8
Upgrading of the National Quality Infrastructure	p. 10
References	p. 12
The Role of Quality and Standards for Competitiveness and Trade	p. 13
Opportunities and Risks of Supporting Quality Upgrading	p. 14
Standards and Development	p. 23
Annex: Important Global Standards	p. 41
References	p. 48
Eastern Europe and Central Asia's Position in Quality Competition: Not Quite There Yet	p. 55
Measuring Quality	p. 56
Unit Values	p. 58
Quality-Sensitive Industries	p. 66
Quality Position as Revealed by Intraindustry Trade	p. 70
Quality Strategies	p. 74
Quality Rankings in ECA	p. 75
Conclusion	p. 77
References	p. 79
The National Quality Infrastructure: Basic Framework and Role of the Government	p. 81
Structure of the National Quality Infrastructure in Market Economies	p. 82
International and Regional Coordination	p. 89
Rationale for Public Intervention	p. 93
References	p. 103
The Building Brocks of the National Quality Infrastructure	p. 105
What Are Standards, and How Are They Used?	p. 105
International and Regional Integration in Standardization	p. 117
Conformity Assessment Bodies	p. 125
Closing the Loop with Market Surveillance	p. 133
Scientific, Industrial, and Legal Metrology	p. 135
International Cooperation in Metrology and Trade	p. 139
The Role of Accreditation	p. 142
International and Regional Integration in Accreditation	p. 145
References	p. 150
Standards and Technical Regulations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: A Double-Edged Sword	p. 153
Standards and Technical Regulations in ECA	p. 154
Improving Standards	p. 176
Sorting Out Technical Regulations	p. 182
References	p. 189
Comformity Assessment Sometimes, But Not Always, a Seal of Quality in Eastern Europe and Central Asia	p. 191
The Market for Conformity Assessment in ECA	p. 192
Market Surveillance in ECA	p. 213
Supporting the Market for Standards and Conformity Assessment	p. 214
References	p. 228
Metrology Making Sure Everything Fits	p. 229
Metrology in ECA	p. 230
Upgrading Metrology Systems in ECA	p. 253
References	p. 264
Accreditation: Certified Once-Accepted Eveywhere	p. 265
Accreditation in Eastern Europe and Central Asia	p. 266
Establishing Credible Accreditation Systems in ECA	p. 288
References	p. 297
Conclusion: Moving Forward	p. 299
Incentives for Reform in Eastern Europe and Central Asia	p. 300
Improving Governance for National Quality Infrastructure	p. 301
Investing in the National Quality Infrastructure	p. 308
The Way Forward	p. 311
References	p. 314
Industry Classification According to the Revealed Quality Elasticity	p. 315
Quality Indicators in Eastern Europe and Central Asia	p. 319
Copyright Issues	p. 325
Accreditation Gap Analysis	p. 327
Boxes
Components of the National Quality Infrastructure	p. 4
The Possibility of Industrial Upgrading through the Virtuous Circle of High-Quality Exports	p. 22
Positive Spillovers of Foreign Direct Investment in Product Quality	p. 25
Measurement as a Key Component of Modern Quality Control Methods	p. 35
A Critical Role for Calibration in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's Major Pharmaceutical Company	p. 36
Implementation of ISO 9001 in a Cambodian Nongovernmental Organization	p. 43
Environmental Gain from ISO 14001 for a Manufacturer in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia	p. 44
ISO 9001 as an Indicator of Quality Competitiveness	p. 58
Important Caveats on Drawing Conclusions on Quality from Unit Values	p. 61
Quality Upgrading: An Expensive Endeavor	p. 96
Participation in International Standardization Committees Is Crucial: Medical Rubber Gloves Industry in Malaysia	p. 119
Do Developing Countries Really Need International Standards? The ôSugar Standardö in the EAC	p. 121
The EU's Global Approach to Conformity Assessment	p. 131
Lowering of Korean Firm's Cross-Border Business Costs because of the CIPM MRA	p. 141
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