http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/909686270

Harnessing quality for global competitiveness in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

"Standards are everywhere, yet invisible to most. Standards define how products, processes, and people interact with each other and their environments--assessing their features and performance, conveying information, and providing means of communication. Under the appropriate conditions, standards have important benefits for trade, productivity, and technological progress. Standards also support government efforts to protect consumers--including their safety and health--and the environment. Quality and standards are inherently connected because standards are often used to codify technical requirements expected by customers or governments (...) In much of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA), the national quality infrastructure does not support business competitiveness, and in many countries of the region, it even impedes competitiveness. ECA national quality infrastructure systems remain underdeveloped and unharmonized with those of their trade partners. As a result, standards remain important contributors to trade costs in ECA and play a critical role in the region's export performance. ECA countries can support business competitiveness by abolishing mandatory standards, streamlining technical regulations, and harmonizing their national quality infrastructure with regional and international trade partners. Most governments in the region need to make investments to upgrade their national quality infrastructure-but they must ensure that this effort is cost-effective, does not replicate services available in neighboring countries, and is accompanied by efforts to stimulate demand for quality. In most countries of the former Soviet Union, a first step to building supportive institutions is to restructure the national quality infrastructure and improve its governance to eliminate conflicts of interest and provide technically credible services to the economy."--Publisher.

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