Washington. The World Bank has released a new report warning that global standards, while often unseen, are increasingly decisive in shaping the development trajectory of low- and middle-income economies amid rapid technological change and the expansion of complex global supply chains.
The World Development Report 2025: Standards for Development describes standards as an “invisible infrastructure” that underpins modern economic activity, arguing that shared rules, from the uniform dimensions of shipping containers to safety protocols governing artificial intelligence, quietly enable productivity, trade and innovation.
At the same time, the report cautions that, without deliberate reform and broader participation, these same rules risk becoming a straitjacket that constrains growth and industrialisation in poorer countries.
The analysis points to a fundamental shift in global trade patterns.
“As conventional tariffs have steadily declined, nontariff measures linked to technical, safety and quality standards have expanded sharply and now affect nearly 90 per cent of global trade,” the report reads in part.
While this reflects rising consumer and regulatory expectations in advanced economies, it has created significant hurdles for developing countries, many of which lack the laboratories, certification systems and regulatory capacity needed to demonstrate compliance and compete effectively in international markets.
Beyond trade, the report highlights the role of standards in improving outcomes in critical social sectors.
In health care, it notes that around 60 per cent of deaths in low- and middle-income countries result from conditions that could be treated with high-quality care, underscoring the life-saving potential of clear clinical and operational standards.
In education, the report cites evidence from Ceará in Brazil, where well-defined teaching benchmarks helped raise early-grade literacy to near-universal levels, and from India, where the introduction of basic hospital checklists contributed to a nearly 47 per cent reduction in maternal deaths.
A central concern raised by the report is what it describes as a “dangerous paradox” in global standard-setting.
“While detailed standards abound for low-risk consumer products, sizeable gaps remain in areas involving transformative and high-stakes technologies, including biotechnology and artificial intelligence,” the report says.
The absence of clear, widely accepted rules in these fields, the report warns, increases uncertainty and raises the risk that innovation will outpace regulation, particularly in countries with limited oversight capacity.
The report also draws attention to the limited influence of developing countries in shaping international standards.
On average, low-income countries occupy seats on fewer than one-third of the technical committees of the International Organisation for Standardisation, leaving them largely in the position of adopting rules designed elsewhere.
This imbalance, the World Bank argues, weakens their ability to ensure that global standards reflect diverse economic conditions and development needs.
To address these challenges, the report proposes a three-stage “adapt, align, author” framework for policymakers.
At early stages of development, countries are encouraged to adapt international standards to local realities and institutional capacity to avoid excessive regulation that could push firms into informality.
As capacity strengthens, governments should progressively align domestic standards with international norms to reduce trade costs, enhance quality and improve market access.
In the longer term, all countries are urged to play a more active role in authoring international standards in priority areas where they hold expertise or strategic interests.
The analysis concludes with a call for greater global cooperation, urging advanced economies and international institutions to lower barriers to participation in standard-setting bodies.
It recommends targeted funding, technical assistance and mentorship to enable experts from developing countries to contribute meaningfully to global committees and ensure that future standards better reflect a wider range of economic and social realities.
“Standards are the baton passed from laboratory to factory to regulator,” said Indermit S. Gill, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank Group.
“When standards are designed and implemented well, the whole team runs faster.”
