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Grounded by Gravity: A Well-Behaved Trade Model with Industry-Level Economies of Scale

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  • Konstantin Kucheryavyy
  • Gary Lyn
  • Andrés Rodríguez-Clare

Abstract

We propose a model to study the role of industry-level external economies of scale in open economies. If the elasticity governing the strength of external economies is below the inverse of the trade elasticity in each industry, then specialization under frictionless trade is consistent with comparative advantage, the model is tractable even with trade frictions, and all countries gain from trade. External economies lower gains from trade except if the country specializes in industries with high scale economies, and they amplify the gains from further trade liberalization except if it leads to specialization in industries with low scale economies.

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  • Konstantin Kucheryavyy & Gary Lyn & Andrés Rodríguez-Clare, 2023. "Grounded by Gravity: A Well-Behaved Trade Model with Industry-Level Economies of Scale," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 372-412, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejmac:v:15:y:2023:i:2:p:372-412
    DOI: 10.1257/mac.20190156
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    6. Sharat Ganapati & Woan Foong Wong & Oren Ziv, 2020. "Entrepôt: Hubs, Scale, and Trade Costs," CESifo Working Paper Series 8199, CESifo.
    7. Farrokhi, Farid & Jinkins, David & Xiang, Chong, 2022. "Gains from Trade and the Food Engel Curve," Working Papers 15-2022, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Economics.
    8. Egger, Peter & , & Nigai, Sergey, 2020. "Empirical Productivity Distributions and International Trade," CEPR Discussion Papers 15160, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. Dominick Bartelme & Arnaud Costinot & Dave Donaldson & Andres Rodriguez-Clare, "undated". "The Textbook Case for Industrial Policy: Theory Meets Data," Working Papers 675, Research Seminar in International Economics, University of Michigan.
    10. Simon Fuchs, 2018. "The Spoils of War: Trade Shocks during WWI and Spain’s Regional Development," 2018 Meeting Papers 1172, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    11. Rodrigo Adão & Costas Arkolakis & Federico Esposito, 2019. "General Equilibrium Effects in Space: Theory and Measurement," NBER Working Papers 25544, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Lashkaripour, Ahmad, 2021. "The cost of a global tariff war: A sufficient statistics approach," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    13. Farrokhi, Farid & Jinkins, David Carson & Xiang, Chong, 2022. "Gains from Trade and the Food Engel Curve," IZA Discussion Papers 15674, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Ma, Xiao, 2020. "College Expansion, Trade and Innovation: Evidence from China," MPRA Paper 109469, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    16. Watabe,Yuta & Sogalla,Robin & Wanner,Joschka, 2024. "New Trade Models, Same Old Emissions?," IDE Discussion Papers 926, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    17. Rodrigo Ad'o & Costas Arkolakis & Federico Esp'sito, 2019. "Spatial Linkages, Global Shocks, and Local Labor Markets: Theory and Evidence," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 2163, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    18. Lorenzo Caliendo & Robert C. Feenstra & John Romalis & Alan M. Taylor, 2023. "Tariff Reductions, Heterogeneous Firms, and Welfare: Theory and Evidence for 1990–2010," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 71(4), pages 817-851, December.
    19. Jung, Benjamin & Kohler, Wilhelm, 2021. "Input-output linkages and monopolistic competition: Input distortion and optimal policies," Hohenheim Discussion Papers in Business, Economics and Social Sciences 06-2021, University of Hohenheim, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.
    20. Lashkaripour, Ahmad, 2020. "Discrete trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • F11 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Neoclassical Models of Trade
    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations

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