Does WTO Matter for the Extensive and the Intensive Margins of Trade?
Abstract
We use 6-digit bilateral trade data to document the effect of WTO/GATT membership on the extensive and intensive product margins of trade. We construct gravity equations for the two product margins where the specifications of these gravity equations are motivated by the model of Eaton and Kortum (2002). The data show that the puzzle of no significant impact of WTO membership on trade documented by Rose (2004) manifests itself differently at the product margins of trade. We show that the impact of the WTO is almost exclusively on the extensive product margin of trade, i.e. trade in goods that were not previously traded. In our preferred specification, WTO membership increases the extensive margin of exports by 31%. At the same time, WTO membership has a negligible or even a negative impact on the intensive margin (the volume of already-traded goods). Incidentally, we also document that standard gravity variables provide good explanatory power for bilateral trade on both margins.Download Info
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Bibliographic Info
Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number 8293.Length:
Date of creation: Mar 2011
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8293
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Related research
Keywords: extensive margin of trade; Gravity; intensive margin of trade; WTO;Find related papers by JEL classification:
- F02 - International Economics - - General - - - International Economic Order; Noneconomic International Organizations;; Economic Integration and Globalization: General
- F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
- F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
- NEP-ALL-2011-03-19 (All new papers)
- NEP-INT-2011-03-19 (International Trade)
References
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Citations
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.Cited by:
- Dick Nuwamanya Kamuganga, 2012. "What Drives Africa's Export Diversification?," IHEID Working Papers 15-2012, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
- Dan Ciuriak & Beverly Lapham & Robert Wolfe & Terry Collins-Williams & John M. Curtis, 2011. "New-New Trade Policy," Working Papers 1263, Queen's University, Department of Economics.
- Ana Santacreu, 2012. "The Trade Comovement Puzzle and the Margins of International Trade," 2012 Meeting Papers 34, Society for Economic Dynamics.
- Aleksandra PARTEKA & Massimo TAMBERI, 2012.
"Relative product diversification in the course of economic development: import-export analysis,"
Departmental Working Papers
2012-23, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
- Aleksandra Parteka & Massimo Tamberi, 2012. "Relative Product Diversification in the Course of Economic Development: Import-Export Analysis," DEGIT Conference Papers c017_056, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade.
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