PO Podcast 16 – Technology-enabled trade in Canada

Technology-enabled trade in Canada, a Policy Options Podcast. E-commerce is revolutionizing the way we trade by giving businesses unprecedented access to new markets. Tools such as eBay have become the great equalizer of international trade: empowering small businesses in a globalized trade environment traditionally dominated by large firms. With so much to gain from these emerging trade patterns, Canadian trade policy can’t afford to be stuck in the past. In a new IRPP study, authors Hanne Melin and Usman Ahmed argue that Canadian trade policies are creating obstacles for small businesses engaging in cross-border online trade. Using data from eBay between 2008 and 2013, they found that e-commerce businesses export at a much higher rate, reach more countries, and grow faster than do their offline counterparts. We caught up with Hanne to learn how the government can foster the growth of technology-enabled small businesses. Download for free. New episodes every second Tuesday. Hanne Melin and Usman Ahmed’s IRPP study “Technology-Enabled Small Business Trade in Canada: New Evidence from eBay Marketplaces” http://irpp.org/research-studies/aots6-ahmed-melin/