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Why Do Nations Trade (So Little)?

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Author Info
James E. Anderson () (Boston College)

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Abstract

There isn't nearly as much trade as standard models suggest there should be. Formal trade barriers and transport costs are too low to account for the difference. The pattern of missing trade has interesting variation across country pairs. These clues suggest the need for theoretical and eventually structural empirical work on the missing transactions costs. This paper reviews recent empirical findings and some promising research directions in search, predation and contract theory.

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File URL: http://fmwww.bc.edu/EC-P/WP428.pdf
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Boston College Department of Economics in its series Boston College Working Papers in Economics with number 428.

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Length: 37 pages
Date of creation: 15 Aug 1999
Date of revision:
Publication status: published, Pacific Economic Review 5 (2000), 115-134.
Handle: RePEc:boc:bocoec:428

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Related research
Keywords: trade costs; gravity;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Markusen, James R, 1995. "The Boundaries of Multinational Enterprises and the Theory of International Trade," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 169-89, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Greif, Avner & Milgrom, Paul & Weingast, Barry R, 1994. "Coordination, Commitment, and Enforcement: The Case of the Merchant Guild," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(4), pages 745-76, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Jeffrey A. Frankel & Ernesto Stein & Shang-Jin Wei, 1993. "Continental Trading Blocs: Are They Natural, or Super-Natural?," NBER Working Papers 4588, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Engel, Charles & Rogers, John H, 1996. "How Wide Is the Border?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(5), pages 1112-25, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Shang-Jin Wei, 1997. "Why is Corruption So Much More Taxing Than Tax? Arbitrariness Kills," NBER Working Papers 6255, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Dixit, Avinash K, 1989. "Entry and Exit Decisions under Uncertainty," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(3), pages 620-38, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. Roberts, Mark J & Tybout, James R, 1997. "The Decision to Export in Colombia: An Empirical Model of Entry with Sunk Costs," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(4), pages 545-64, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Kyle Bagwell & Robert W. Staiger, 1997. "An Economic Theory of GATT," NBER Working Papers 6049, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. James E. Anderson & Douglas Marcouiller, 1997. "Trade and Security,I: Anarchy," NBER Working Papers 6223, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. McCallum, John, 1995. "National Borders Matter: Canada-U.S. Regional Trade Patterns," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(3), pages 615-23, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. McLaren, John, 1999. "Supplier relations and the market context: A theory of handshakes," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 121-138, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Alessandra Casella & James E. Rauch, 1997. "Anonymous Market and Group Ties in International Trade," NBER Working Papers 6186, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Trefler, Daniel, 1995. "The Case of the Missing Trade and Other Mysteries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(5), pages 1029-46, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Robert W. Staiger, 1994. "International Rules and Institutions for Trade Policy," NBER Working Papers 4962, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  15. James E. Anderson & Douglas Marcouiller, 1999. "Trade, Insecurity, and Home Bias: An Empirical Investigation," NBER Working Papers 7000, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. James E. Rauch & Alessandra Casella, 2003. "Overcoming Informational Barriers to International Resource Allocation: Prices and Ties," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(484), pages 21-42, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  17. W. Bentley MacLeod, 1996. "Decision, Contract, and Emotion: Some Economics for a Complex and Confusing World," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 29(4), pages 788-810, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  18. Skaperdas, S. & Syropoulos, C., 1996. "Insecure Properties and the Stability of Exchange," Papers 95-96-8, California Irvine - School of Social Sciences.
  19. James E. Rauch & Vitor Trindade, 1999. "Ethnic Chinese Networks in International Trade," NBER Working Papers 7189, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  20. Jean Tirole, 1999. "Incomplete Contracts: Where Do We Stand?," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 67(4), pages 741-782, July.
  21. Keith Head & John Ries, 1998. "Immigration and Trade Creation: Econometric Evidence from Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 31(1), pages 47-62, February.
  22. Horstmann, Ignatius J & Markusen, James R, 1996. "Exploring New Markets: Direct Investment, Contractual Relations and the Multinational Enterprise," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 37(1), pages 1-19, February.
    Other versions:
  23. Anderson, James E, 1979. "A Theoretical Foundation for the Gravity Equation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 69(1), pages 106-16, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Noussair, Charles & Plott, Charles & Riezman, Raymond, 2003. "Production, trade, prices, exchange rates and equilibration in large experimental economies," Working Papers 1188, California Institute of Technology, Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. James E. Anderson & Eric van Wincoop, 2004. "Trade Costs," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 42(3), pages 691-751, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Koeniger, Winfried, 2002. "Defensive Innovations," IZA Discussion Papers 454, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  4. Gert-Jan Linders, 2004. "The Effect of Domestic Institutions on International Trade Flows: A sectoral analysis," ERSA conference papers ersa04p357, European Regional Science Association. [Downloadable!]
  5. Christoph Ernst & Alfonso Hernández Ferrer & Daan Zult, 2005. "The end of the Multi-Fibre Agreement and its implication for trade and employment," Employment strategy papers 2005-16, International Labour Office. [Downloadable!]
  6. Feng Zhu & Enzo Croce & V. Hugo Juan-Ramon, 2004. "Performance of Western Hemisphere Trading Blocs: A Cost-Corrected Gravity Approach," IMF Working Papers 04/109, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
  7. Badi H. Baltagi & Peter Egger & Michael Pfaffermayr, 2005. "Estimating Models of Complex FDI: Are There Third-Country Effects?," Center for Policy Research Working Papers 73, Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Frank A.G. den Butter & Raphie Hayat, . "Trade between China and the Netherlands: a Case Study of Globalization," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 08-016/3, Tinbergen Institute. [Downloadable!]
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