Evolution of transport institutions that facilitate international trade 1

While international trade and the movement of economic activities across national borders have been increasing for a century or more, recent growth has been remarkable. In the 1990s, trade in goods and services grew twice as fast as global GDP. In an affluent economy such as US, trade has grown three times as fast as GDP since 1980, and the share of trade attributable to the developing countries has climbed from 23% to 29% in the 1990s (World Bank, 2000).