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Institutional Quality and the Gains from Trade

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  • Axel Borrmann
  • Matthias Busse
  • Silke Neuhaus

Abstract

While theoretical models suggest that trade is likely to increase productivity and income levels, the empirical evidence is rather mixed. For some countries, trade has a strong impact on growth, whereas for other countries there is no or even a negative linkage. We examine one likely prerequisite for a welfare increasing impact of trade, that is, the role of institutional quality. Using several model specifications, including an instrumental variable approach, we identify those aspects of institutional quality that matter most for the positive linkage between trade and growth. We find that, above all, labour market regulation is the key to reducing trade-related adjustment costs. Market entry regulations, the efficiency of the tax system, the rule of law and government effectiveness do play a role too. In essence, the results demonstrate that countries with low-quality institutions do not benefit from trade. Copyright 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd..

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Bibliographic Info

Article provided by Wiley Blackwell in its journal Kyklos.

Volume (Year): 59 (2006)
Issue (Month): 3 (08)
Pages: 345-368

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Handle: RePEc:bla:kyklos:v:59:y:2006:i:3:p:345-368

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  1. John Shea, 1997. "Instrument Relevance in Multivariate Linear Models: A Simple Measure," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(2), pages 348-352, May.
  2. Revenga, Ana, 1997. "Employment and Wage Effects of Trade Liberalization: The Case of Mexican Manufacturing," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(3), pages S20-43, July.
  3. Easterly, William & Levine, Ross, 1997. "Africa's Growth Tragedy: Policies and Ethnic Divisions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 112(4), pages 1203-50, November.
  4. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2001. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1369-1401, December.
  5. Johannes P. Jütting, 2003. "Institutions and Development: A Critical Review," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 210, OECD Publishing.
  6. Douglas A. Irwin & Marko Tervio, 2000. "Does Trade Raise Income? Evidence from the Twentieth Century," NBER Working Papers 7745, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  7. Yanikkaya, Halit, 2003. "Trade openness and economic growth: a cross-country empirical investigation," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 57-89, October.
  8. Pedro Portugal & Olivier Blanchard, 2001. "What Hides Behind an Unemployment Rate: Comparing Portuguese and U.S. Labor Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(1), pages 187-207, March.
  9. Levine, Ross & Renelt, David, 1992. "A Sensitivity Analysis of Cross-Country Growth Regressions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(4), pages 942-63, September.
  10. Aron, Janine, 2000. "Growth and Institutions: A Review of the Evidence," World Bank Research Observer, World Bank Group, vol. 15(1), pages 99-135, February.
  11. North, Douglass C., 1993. "Economic Performance through Time," Nobel Prize in Economics documents 1993-2, Nobel Prize Committee.
  12. Noguer, Marta & Siscart, Marc, 2005. "Trade raises income: a precise and robust result," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 447-460, March.
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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. Jung Hur & Backhoon Song, 2007. "What Kinds of Countries Have More Free Trade Partner Countries? - Count Regression Analysis," Trade Working Papers 22002, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
  2. Koopmann, Georg & Hoekstra, Ruth, 2010. "Aid for trade and the political economy of trade liberalization," HWWI Research Papers 2-22, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI).
  3. Herzer, Dierk, 2009. "Cross-country heterogeneity and the trade-income relationship," Proceedings of the German Development Economics Conference, Frankfurt a.M. 2009 13, Verein für Socialpolitik, Research Committee Development Economics.
  4. Königer, Jens & Busse, Matthias & Koopmann, Georg, 2010. "Premises of Aid for Trade," Proceedings of the German Development Economics Conference, Hannover 2010 13, Verein für Socialpolitik, Research Committee Development Economics.
  5. Jung Hur & Rasyad A. Parinduri & Yohanes E. Riyanto, 2007. "Cross-Border M&A Inflows and the Quality of Institutions: A Cross-Country Panel Data Analysis," SCAPE Policy Research Working Paper Series 0708, National University of Singapore, Department of Economics, SCAPE.
  6. Mariana Spatareanu & Vlad Manole, 2009. "Trade openness and income ?a re-examination," LICOS Discussion Papers 24309, LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven.
  7. Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada & Doyle, Eleanor, 2007. "Trade, Productivity and Institutional Quality: Issues and Empirics," Proceedings of the German Development Economics Conference, Göttingen 2007 21, Verein für Socialpolitik, Research Committee Development Economics.
  8. Thomas Gries & Manfred Kraft & Daniel Meierrieks, 2008. "Linkages between Financial Deepening,Trade Openness and Economic Development: Causality Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 15, University of Paderborn, CIE Center for International Economics.
  9. Li, Kui-Wai, 2011. "The Optimal Level and Impact of Internal Factors on Growth," MPRA Paper 36419, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  10. Juliane Brach, 2008. "Constraints to Economic Development and Growth in the Middle East and North Africa," GIGA Working Paper Series 85, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
  11. Langbein, Laura & Knack, Stephen, 2008. "The worldwide governance indicators and tautology : causally related separable concepts, indicators of a common cause, or both ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4669, The World Bank.
  12. Yago, Milton & Morgan, Wyn, 2008. "The impact of policy reversal on economic performance in Sub-Saharan Africa," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 88-106, March.
  13. Christian Volpe Martincus & Andrés Gallo, 2009. "Institutions and Export Specialization: Just Direct Effects?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 129-149, 02.

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