During recent decades, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been changing human life. Moreover, ICT has important impact on business environment and foreign trade. In this article, we are going to examine the unilateral causal relation between ICT and business environment and trade facilitation. To end this, we indentify two econometric models focusing on the factors influencing business environment and trade facilitation. Panel data approach is employed to estimate those models specified using the data for two groups of developed and developing countries. The results of the paper show that ICT has positive and statistically significant effect on business environment and trade facilitation in developed countries while the evidences couldn’t support the same hypothesis using developing countries data. It seems that the developed countries would be able to utilize ICT capabilities effectively in their economic growth path while this couldn’t be observed in developing countries.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of trade facilitation on bilateral trade in developing countries. Trade facilitation increases the attractiveness of investing in countries by improving the flow of trade by speeding up the process of declaration and clearance of goods, and helps reduce the cost of trade and improve competitiveness. In order to quantify the impact of trade facilitation on bilateral trade, we have used the cross-border trade index of countries. Our data includes a sample of panel data of 21749 bilateral relations between developing countries for time span of years 2006 to 2018, which is used to estimate the impact of trade facilitation along with other important variables such as GDP, population, common border, common language and distance between countries using a weighted least squares method. Our results show that trade facilitation, if implemented by both countries, has positive effects on bilateral trade of industrial goods. The results also showed that the tendency for bilateral trade is higher among developing countries with countries with higher GDP. The results showed that having a common border is more important than a common language in bilateral trade, and on the other hand, trade between countries with a higher geographical distance is less. Therefore, it can be said that trade policy focusing on neighboring countries has a higher priority than farther developing countries.

Because of the challenges that the Customs Organization faces, some changes have been occurring in the management system of customs in different countries of the world. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the management system ruling its customs has accepted that structural change is an essential need in this sector. Hence, this study was conducted to examine the post-clearance audit and solutions and factors affecting it using the foreign trade facilitation and development approach. The extant research is applied research in terms of objective, and required data were collected from questionnaires distributed among 92 subjects including experts in customs affairs. Results showed that six criteria of risk management, customs strategies, customs human resources, importers and traders, rules and regulations, and customs infrastructures are the factors affecting an optimal post-clearance audit implementation. Customs infrastructures were introduced as the most critical factor. Accordingly, it seems that it is essential to create Customs Infrastructures as the first effective step to successful PCA.

Introduction: In recent years, the concept of trade facilitation has received unprecedented attention, so trade facilitation has become an essential part of trade negotiations. The term ‘ trade facilitation’ is widely used by institutions seeking to improve and facilitate regulatory relations between governmental agencies and traders. According to the United nation, trade facilitation is one of the main indicators of the development in a country. Policy makers in trade area also emphasize the importance of improving this indicator. The international trade environment is a complex environment; in the process of cross-border trade (export, import and transit), at least 60 different work procedures can be observed. These procedures increase the cost and time of the business and complicate it. In our country, the concept of trade facilitation has long been considered by various stakeholders in public and private institutions. As far as the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade, Customs, Ports and Maritime Organization, and Health and Plant Licensing Organization are concerned, various measures have been taken in the field of trade facilitation. Some of the measures taken in the country include the establishment of integrated and electronic systems such as comprehensive trade system and single window, the elimination of some redundant rules and processes in customs and licensing organizations, and the formation of trade facilitation working groups and deregulation boards. However, despite the efforts of policy makers to improve this index, Iran's rank has been low. No comprehensive model or studies have been presented to improve this index in Iran. Methodology: This research aims to achieve a model to facilitate cross-border trade. In other words, it seeks to identify the components of trade facilitation and their relationships and to create a balance among them, which facilitates and increases supervision. Therefore, the questions to answer are ‘ What are the main components of improving the business environment and facilitating cross-border trade in the country? ’ , ‘ What is the relationship between the components and the indicators of trade facilitation? ’ , ‘ What is their impact on the business environment? ’ and ‘ What are the main obstacles to improving the business environment and facilitating the country's trade? ’ It can help to establish comprehensive measures in this area. To identify variables and the relationships among them, the research methodology is qualitative and based on the grounded theory. The research also benefits from the expertise of the private, governmental and academic sectors as the main stakeholders of trade facilitation. Accordingly, 21 experts have been interviewed on the issue. The results of the data analysis through open coding, axial coding and selective coding have led to the presentation of a trade facilitation model. Results and Discussion: In this research, 312 concepts, 25 categories and 7 macro categories have been extracted and examined. The components of determining business and economic development strategies, which can facilitate the trade, are the creation of processes, coordination of regulations and creation of sustainable supply chains. Simplifying and coordinating the model is a desirable outcome in business facilitation. Determining long-term and stable strategies in economic and trade fields is one of the items that, according to the research results, should be emphasized so as to facilitate trade in the country. According to the interviewees, there is no clear and defined model for these strategies in the country. These factors have not been mentioned in other research works as the priorities of business facilitation. Another factor suggested as an obstacle to trade facilitation in the country is the emphasis on the close monitoring of documents and procedures. This has led to the fact that most of the existing laws are strictly codified and the procedures are time-consuming and increase the cost of commercial transactions. In the research model proposed here, an attempt is made to create a balance between monitoring and facilitation. Indeed, trade facilitation is achieved through simplification and coordination while paying attention to regulatory procedures. In the research conducted in other countries, the contrast between these two issues is not very noticeable, but, during the interviews, the stakeholders mentioned this issue in Iran frequently. Conclusion: The purpose of the research is to provide a model to facilitate cross-border trade in the country. With a qualitative method based on the grounded theory, various stakeholders were interviewed to determine the components of business facilitation. In the next step, using axial and selective coding, the relationships among the components were determined, and the research model was presented. In this study, 312 concepts, 25 categories and 7 macro categories were extracted. As the components were identified, there emerged a lot of overlap between them and those in other studies. In addition to interviews for data collection, direct observation and document analysis were done too. The research emphasizes the knowledge and experience of the interviewees. Therefore, it can be expected to provide deeper insights into trade facilitation by using broader sources and making observations over a longer period of time. Like most studies based on the data theory, the findings of this study are based on the views and experiences of individuals and the conditions of the research environment, so the results can be generalized to similar conditions and environments. There are certain suggestions to make for future research. Firstly, due to the fact that the coefficient of influence and the dependence of the components are not determined in the model of this study, it is advisable to determine the relationships among those components using quantitative methods such as interpretive-structural modeling. In addition, considering that a comprehensive model has not been presented in the country to create an effective and efficient model for monitoring cross-border trade processes, conducting research in this regard can contribute to trade facilitation. It should be noted that trade facilitation measures are highly interrelated, although they are often cited as independent elements. So, a systematic, integrated, step-by-step approach must be proposed in order for measures to be effective. In this regard, examining the priority of actions and their order using quantitative research methods can help to develop and implement a proper model.

Almost in all WTO agreements, we are considering the promotion of some elements of good governance to prevent and combat corruption in international trade in order to create a fair competitive environment by creating a conducive business environment. Through meta-analysis, we learned to what extent the World Trade Organization, in addition to the provisions of the agreements, has been able to prevent corruption under the influence of block chain technology. In this regard, the provisions of the organization's agreements and its approach to corruption in international trade were explained and the impact of the use of block chain technology was examined. The study showed that the WTO in the provisions of the agreements obliges the members to observe some components of good governance that are indirectly associated with a preventive approach to combating corruption. It is shown that enjoying block chain technology to set single windows and make use of smart contracts have been considered and used by members according to the relevant agreements. Although the use of this technology has worked well to some extent in facilitating trade, government procurement, and the trade in services, it has led to inefficiencies and challenges in the absence of the necessary infrastructure, which in fact cannot be a viable alternative to powerful institutions that it is created to be replaced.

The problem of marginalization has been the main challenge of urban management during the last few decades, and after various experiences of coercion, ignoring and finally recognizing what is now recommended by international organizations are the approaches of empowerment and local development. The establishment of local facilitation and development offices with a community-oriented approach is one of the measures that have been put on the government's agenda in recent years in order to empower and attract the participation of local residents in the organization of marginalized areas. The present study was conducted with the aim of qualitative evaluation of the performance of facilitation offices in Khorram Abad city. This research is qualitative and thematic analysis technique was used. The purposeful sampling method and data collection tool was a semi-structured interview, and theoretical saturation was achieved after interviewing 25 key informants, including members of Khorram Abad facilitation offices and social and local activists in marginal areas. The findings show that obtaining an accurate database in various fields, strengthening the community-oriented approach, strengthening public participation, encouraging institutions to operate at the neighborhood level, strengthening the spirit of hope among local residents, and increasing the sense of belonging of local residents are among the most important strengths of facilitation offices; The lack of familiarity of some administrative bodies with the goals and description of facilitation services, the charitable and professional approach of some institutions, the uncertainty of the results and effectiveness of the offices, the dominance of the physical approach over the social and cultural approach, the low quality of human resources in some offices, the weakness In the supervision and monitoring of the performance of these offices and the lack of coordination between the social affairs of the governorate and the consulting company are among the most important weaknesses of the facilitation offices of Khorram Abad city.

Aim: Investigating the relationship between land surface temperature and urban land uses can be used for urban management. However, one of the main problems in this field is the low spatial resolution of thermal images. This research aims to evaluate and select the best existing algorithm for achieving a high spatial resolution of thermal images to investigate and analyze changes in land surface temperature in Region 4 of Ahvaz. Material & method: For this purpose, the split window algorithm was used as one of the most common suitable algorithms to calculate land surface temperature, and SFIM and T sharp DisTrade algorithms in urban areas were applied to improve spatial resolution. Finding: Results show that the spatial resolution of the output image obtained by Split Window, T Sharp DisTrade, and SFIM algorithms is 30, 100, and 45 meters, respectively. The T Sharp DisTrade algorithm presented the output images with very good resolution so that different land uses could be separated according to their surface temperature. Split Window and SFIM algorithms did not provide acceptable results in land use evaluation. Also, the average land surface temperature values obtained from T Sharp DisTrade, Split Window algorithm, and SFIM are equal to 17.5, 23.5, and 28.25 degrees Celsius, respectively. This temperature difference of these algorithms is due to utilizing the fusion process. Conclusion: As a result, T Sharp DisTrade algorithm was more effective in improving the spatial resolution of thermal images. Innovation: Innovations of this research are: - simultaneous use of three mentioned algorithms for increasing spatial resolution of thermal images and discovering the best algorithm in this field, which has not been investigated in previous research, - improving spatial resolution of thermal images for evaluating urban land uses by using T Sharp DisTrade algorithm, and detail investigation of surface temperature changes.