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Understanding the International Elasticity Puzzle

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  • Hakan Yilmazkuday

    (Department of Economics, Florida International University)

Abstract

International trade studies have higher macro elasticity measures compared to international finance studies, which has evoked mixed policy implications regarding the effects of a change in trade costs versus exchange rates on welfare measures. This so-called international elasticity puzzle is investigated in this paper by drawing attention to the alternative strategies that the two literatures use for the aggregation of foreign products in consumer utility functions. Using the implications of having a finite number of foreign countries in nested CES frameworks that are consistent with the two literatures, the discrepancy between the elasticity measures is explained by showing theoretically and confirming empirically that the macro elasticity in international trade is a weighted average of the macro elasticity in international finance and the corresponding elasticity of substitution across products of foreign source countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Hakan Yilmazkuday, 2018. "Understanding the International Elasticity Puzzle," Working Papers 1808, Florida International University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:fiu:wpaper:1808
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    Cited by:

    1. Yilmazkuday, Hakan, 2012. "Understanding interstate trade patterns," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 158-166.
    2. Esposito, Federico, 2020. "Estimating the welfare costs of autarky: A sufficient statistics approach," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    3. Michael Funke & Adrian Wende, 2023. "The US–China Phase One trade deal: An economic analysis of the managed trade agreement," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 56(2), pages 758-786, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    International Elasticity Puzzle; International Trade and Finance;

    JEL classification:

    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F41 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Open Economy Macroeconomics

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