This side event at the World Trade Organization's Fourth Global Review of Aid for Trade brought together a range of contributions to an ODI-COMSEC volume on Aid for Trade (AfT),  Aid for Trade effectiveness – current issues and future directions, and featured presentations and facilitated discussions on empirical evidence on the effectiveness of AfT; on AfT and global value chains; and on future directions on AfT.

This session launched of a ComSec-ODI book on Aid for Trade and discussed effectiveness of AfT from various angles: quantitative studies, country case studies, and considerations for the future. The sixteen book chapters have been written by international experts and academics from organizations including Commonwealth Secretariat, ODI, ECDPM, DIE, ICTSD, Saana, and Columbia University. Topics include: quantitative effectiveness, country experiences, regional aid for trade, vale chain analysis, lessons from BRICs, right to trade, and future directions.