Non-tariff barriers are an important impediment to trade for less developed countries. They need to be brought to the forefront of the trade debate if developing countries are to move into the export of higher value added products.
Measurement of the shadow economy is notoriously difficult as it requires estimation of economic activity that is deliberately hidden from official transactions. Surveys typically understate the size of the shadow economy but econometric techniques can now be used to obtain a much better understanding of its size.
This important study, whilst not doubting the position that Fair Trade is part and parcel of a market economy, does question the claims made by the Fair Trade movement.