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Is the Iceberg Melting Less Quickly? International Trade Costs after World War II

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  • Novy, Dennis

    (Department of Economics, University of Warwick)

Abstract

International trade costs are of vital importance because they determine trade patterns and therefore economic performance. This paper develops a new micro-founded measure of international trade costs. It is based on a multi-country general equilibrium model of trade that incorporates bilateral "ice-berg" trade costs. The model results in a gravity equation from which the implied trade costs can be easily computed. The trade cost measure is intuitive, takes multilateral resistance into account and yields empirical results that are economically sensible. It is found that during the post-WorldWar II period trade costs have declined markedly. The dispersion of trade costs across countries can best be explained by geographical and historical factors like distance and colonial linkages but also by tariffs and free trade agreements

Suggested Citation

  • Novy, Dennis, 2006. "Is the Iceberg Melting Less Quickly? International Trade Costs after World War II," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 764, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:wrk:warwec:764
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    2. Petr Polak & Nikol Polakova & Anna Tlusta, 2020. "How Bad Are Trade Wars? Evidence from Tariffs," Working Papers 2020/15, Czech National Bank.
    3. Petroulakis, Filippos, 2017. "Internal devaluation in currency unions: the role of trade costs and taxes," Working Paper Series 2049, European Central Bank.
    4. Lastauskas, Povilas, 2013. "Europe's revolving doors: Import competition and endogenous firm entry institutions," Kiel Advanced Studies Working Papers 464, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    5. Mandelman, Federico S., 2016. "Labor market polarization and international macroeconomic dynamics," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1-16.
    6. Adrian Wood (QEH), "undated". "Openness is a Matter of Degree: How Trade Costs Reduce Demand Elasticities," QEH Working Papers qehwps169, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    7. Xinbei Qian & Dexue Liu & Liangxiong Huang & Hanchao Li, 2022. "Distance of doing business and outward foreign direct investment: An empirical study of China," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 1411-1437, August.
    8. Benjamin Bridgman, 2013. "Market entry and trade weighted import costs," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 46(3), pages 982-1013, August.
    9. Murat Genç & David Law, 2014. "A Gravity Model of Barriers to Trade in New Zealand," Treasury Working Paper Series 14/05, New Zealand Treasury.
    10. Pavlidis, Efthymios G. & Paya, Ivan & Peel, David A., 2011. "Real exchange rates and time-varying trade costs," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 1157-1179, October.
    11. Martin Berka, 2009. "Nonlinear Adjustment in Law of One Price Deviations and Physical Characteristics of Goods," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(1), pages 51-73, February.
    12. Dennis Novy, 2013. "Gravity Redux: Measuring International Trade Costs With Panel Data," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(1), pages 101-121, January.
    13. Malik, Adeel & Temple, Jonathan R.W., 2009. "The geography of output volatility," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(2), pages 163-178, November.
    14. Jacks, David S. & Meissner, Christopher M. & Novy, Dennis, 2010. "Trade costs in the first wave of globalization," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 127-141, April.
    15. Woei, Tan Jiunn & Chin, Lee & Mohamed, Azali & Ismail, Normaz Wana, 2018. "The Impact of Various Trade Arrangements on Malaysia’s Bilateral Trade Costs," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 52(2), pages 69-80.
    16. Pesaran, M.H. & Smith, R.P & Yamagata. T. & Hvozdyk, L., 2006. "Pairwise Tests of Purchasing Power Parity Using Aggregate and Disaggregate Price Measures," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0634, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    17. Toshihiro Atsumi, 2019. "Footloose capital and forced agglomeration: Do “build them here†policies work?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 39(4), pages 2813-2822.
    18. Badau, Flavius, 2015. "Ranking trade resistance variables using data envelopment analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 247(3), pages 978-986.
    19. Tao Jiang & Yizhu Hu & Fazli Haleem & Shaolong Zeng, 2023. "Do Digital Trade Rules Matter? Empirical Evidence from TAPED," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-19, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trade Costs ; Gravity ; Distance ; Economic Integration;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F1 - International Economics - - Trade
    • F4 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance

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