The Impact in Cu s toms Efficiency of the ITSW: Mexico C as e of Study
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is the same, ser vices provided (o utputs) in relatio n to the
resources used to such an effect (inputs) [6]. Whereas in
the private sector inputs and outputs are expressed in
financial terms, identification of inputs and, especially,
outputs ho wever in the public sector is much more co m-
plex [7].
Observing the public sector, effectiveness, which can
be defined as capacity to achieve goals, gains a greater
importance than efficiency [8]. In the public services
there is no direct correlation between revenues and ex-
penses [9]. The political system is oriented primarily to
the achievement of goals defined in the political process,
regardless of the cost-benefit ratio.
The assessment of the performance of the public sector
has long been a topic of interest to economists, public
administration scholars and management scientists [10]
[11]. Some studies analyzed the productivity of govern-
ment and compared the productivity of whole public
sectors of different countries. That is the case of Afonso,
Schuknecht and Tanzi [12] have carried out an interna-
tional comparison of public sector efficiency based on
the public sector performance (PSP) and efficiency (PSE)
indicators. These indicators comprise a composite and
seven sub-indicators. Four of them are “opportunity’’
sub-indicators that take into account administrative, edu-
cation and health outcomes and the quality of public in-
frastructure and those that support the rule of law and a
level playing-field in a market economy. Three other
indicators reflect the standard “Musgravian’’ tasks for
government: allocation, distribution and stabilization.
After defining indicators, the efficiency is measured via
the non-parametric frontier technique.
Other studies focus on the productivity measurement
in the public sector can also take place at the level of the
organization and from a “bottom up’’ or service-user
perspective [13]. The World Bank has adopted this ap-
proach with regard to assessing some aspects of the ef-
fects of regulation with the development of their Doing
Business database, where three indicators from the data-
base are particularly relevant to the assessment of public
admi ni str a tion quality and productivity.
Relatively to customs administration have being de-
velop some systems to measure efficiency most of them
in Euro pe. The Eur ope an Commi ssion has es tablished it s
Measurement of Results (MoR) project for the customs
services of member states. Work on measuring the results
of customs activities performed by member states is un-
derway and the results achieved enable member states to
compare their performance to the Community standard
and act to improved customs operations where necessary.
A few years ago the role of customs was to be able to
enforce regulation tariffs, non- tariffs and administrative
regulations for all products that enter and leave the coun-
try, respecting international trade agreements [2]. How-
ever, consumers demand has been changing as interna-
tional trade with it. Whereby, customs under this trend
should be facilitators of foreign trade through the tax and
regulato r y simplificatio n.
Overall, the role of the customs service is to be a busi-
ness facilitator, policy adviser and implementer and
safety provider. The proper execution of these functions
can foster a fair market, ensure timely delivery and re-
duce costs of international trade, which leads to the
competitive advantage of firms and nations in the global
value chain [14].
Currently, customs are confronted to a rapidly chang-
ing environment: changing patterns of production and
consumption intensified international trade, new global
threats… In this context, customs play a major role by
ensuring a constant balance between protecting society
and simplifica tion of trade.
Customs efficiency has a significant impact on reduc-
ing cost associated with trade and business performance
management, so a close link between competitiveness in
international tra de and customs ca n be identified [14]. In
the ot her ha nd , a poor function of customs administration
may indeed affect the improvements that have been made
in other areas related to international trade [2].
In such conditions customs administrations, being re-
levant regulatory operators in international trade and
goods movements, accept more important and complex
tasks. To begin with, customs administrations are ex-
pected to facilitate and accelerate international trade and
transport [7].
3. Worldwide International Trade
Single-Window Developments
The ITSW is a concept that has been implemented in a
variety of ways in different countries the past years. His-
torically, the concept of a single-window was developed
by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
(UNECE) and countries in other jurisdictions as Korea,
Singapore, Thailand, Chile Japan and Mongolia [15].
The main objective o f the i mplementation of the ITSW
is to achieve trade facilitation or the simplification and
harmonization of international trade procedures.
Governments and the import/export, shipping, logistics
and transport communities have established a range of
agency and country-specific regulatory and operational
requirements for international trade. However, there has
been limited coordination between these groups, both at
the national and the international levels. As a result,
traders are faced with a confusing set of stringent, over-
lapping and onerous reporting requirements, often in-
cluding redundant, repetitive and outdated or superseded
regulations. These requirements come in the guise of
forms, systems, data sets, data models, and electronic