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The Positive Effects of the Schengen Agreement on European Trade

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  • Dane Davis
  • Thomas Gift

Abstract

type="main" xml:id="twec12158-abs-0001"> Enacted in 1985, the Schengen Agreement is widely heralded as both a symbol and major institutional advancement of the European project. By eliminating passport requirements for workers, the compact ostensibly produces gains from travel, ease of market access and economies of scale. Yet despite these optimistic predictions, scholars know little about the actual effects of Schengen on trade. We fill this void by identifying why labour mobility should expand the cross-country exchange of goods and services and then test our theory with data from Europe spanning the period 1980 to 2011. We argue that labour mobility resulting from Schengen yields positive effects on trade by increasing demand for foreign goods, improving awareness of low-cost producers abroad and lowering the risks associated with buying and selling outside the country. Using the gravity model of trade, we show empirically that Schengen membership makes European states more robust trading partners.

Suggested Citation

  • Dane Davis & Thomas Gift, 2014. "The Positive Effects of the Schengen Agreement on European Trade," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(11), pages 1541-1557, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:worlde:v:37:y:2014:i:11:p:1541-1557
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/twec.2014.37.issue-11
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    Cited by:

    1. Jason Poulos & Andrea Albanese & Andrea Mercatanti & Fan Li, 2021. "Retrospective causal inference via matrix completion, with an evaluation of the effect of European integration on cross-border employment," LISER Working Paper Series 2021-07, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    2. Gabriel Felbermayr & Jasmin Gröschl & Thomas Steinwachs, 2018. "The Trade Effects of Border Controls: Evidence from the European Schengen Agreement," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(2), pages 335-351, March.
    3. Volker Nitsch, 2019. "Passport, please! Travels, travails and trade," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(15), pages 1274-1278, September.
    4. Gabriel Felbermayr & Jasmin Katrin Gröschl & Thomas Steinwachs, 2016. "The trade effects of border controls," ifo Forschungsberichte, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 73.
      • Gabriel Felbermayr & Jasmin Katrin Gröschl & Thomas Steinwachs, 2016. "Trade Effects of Border Controls," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 69(05), pages 18-27, March.
    5. Lucile Bécaud & Geanina Ramona Caulea & Meixing Dai, 2017. "La crise des migrants peut-elle conduire à l’éclatement de l’espace Schengen ?," Bulletin de l'Observatoire des politiques économiques en Europe, Observatoire des Politiques Économiques en Europe (OPEE), vol. 37(1), pages 13-23, December.
    6. Vermeulen, Wessel N., 2022. "Stuck outside the single market; Evidence from firms in central and eastern Europe," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 415-434.
    7. Suari-Andreu, Eduard & van Vliet, Olaf, 2022. "Intra-EU Migration, Public Transfers, and Assimilation: Evidence for the Netherlands," MPRA Paper 112404, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Felbermayr, Gabriel & Gröschl, Jasmin & Heiland, Inga, 2022. "Complex Europe: Quantifying the cost of disintegration," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    9. Ana Pérez-Escoda & Tetyana Lokot, 2023. "Charting the Impacts of Media Discourses on the European Integration Project," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(4), pages 1-4.
    10. Wassmann, Pia, 2016. "Do Open Borders Tempt a Saint? Evidence from Schengen on Crime Rates in German Border Regions," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145878, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    11. Gabriel Felbermayr & Jasmin Katrin Gröschl & Inga Heiland, 2018. "Undoing Europe in a New Quantitative Trade Model," ifo Working Paper Series 250, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    12. Eduard Suari‐Andreu & Olaf van Vliet, 2023. "Intra‐EU migration, public transfers and assimilation," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 90(360), pages 1229-1264, October.
    13. Pia Wassmann, 2016. "Do open borders tempt a saint? Evidence from Schengen on crime rates in German border regions," ERSA conference papers ersa16p539, European Regional Science Association.
    14. Thomas Steinwachs, 2019. "Geography Matters: Spatial Dimensions of Trade, Migration and Growth," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 81.
    15. Ademmer, Esther & Barsbai, Toman & Lücke, Matthias & Stöhr, Tobias, 2015. "30 Years of Schengen: Internal blessing, external curse?," Kiel Policy Brief 88, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    16. Döhrn, Roland & Barabas, György & Fuest, Angela & Gebhard, Heinz & Micheli, Martin & Rujin, Svetlana & Zwick, Lina, 2016. "Die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung im Inland: In schwierigem Fahrwasser," RWI Konjunkturberichte, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, vol. 67(1), pages 37-110.

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