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Israel's Open-Secret Trade

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Abstract

This paper uncovers and quantifies Israel’s exports to countries that ban trade with Israel. Israel exported a total of $6.4 billion worth of merchandise to boycott countries between 1962 and 2012, and most of this trade is illicit, i.e. not recorded by the importers. We find that electronic exports to Malaysia account for the lion’s share of this trade but it also includes a wide array of products from footwear to fruit and vegetables. Our estimates suggest Israel’s exports to these countries would be 10 times larger without the boycott. On top of providing further evidence on the unintended consequences of unilateral trade bans, this paper provides a case study on the role of politics in international trade.

Suggested Citation

  • Lorenzo Rotunno & Pierre-Louis Vézina, 2016. "Israel's Open-Secret Trade," AMSE Working Papers 1638, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.
    • Handle: RePEc:aim:wpaimx:1638
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    Cited by:

    1. Laurent Didier, 2020. "The Impact of Conflict on Trade in Services: A Sector-Level Analysis," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 62(1), pages 34-48, March.
    2. Beverelli, Cosimo & Ticku, Rohit, 2022. "Reducing tariff evasion: The role of trade facilitation," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 534-554.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    trade policy; Israel; illegal trade;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements

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