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Bilateral agreements and imbalances in international trade

Author

Listed:
  • Alexandre Loures

    (Instituto Mauro Borges)

  • Leonardo Mattos

    (Federal University of Vicosa)

  • Erik Figueiredo

    (Instituto Mauro Borges)

Abstract

Using a Ricardian model of trade, this article analyzes a new framework in the international trade literature, namely: the effects of "Regional Trade Agreements" -- RTAs -- on the imbalance of bilateral trade, understood as the share of net exports in trade bilateral gross. The results indicate that all types of trade agreements are associated with an average fall of 3.95% in the trade imbalance. In addition, the reported values are in line with the results of Baier, Bergstrand and Feng (2014) that there is an accumulation effect of the impacts of RTAs. Finally, the analyzes considering a generic measure for the RTAs underestimated the effects of the agreements.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexandre Loures & Leonardo Mattos & Erik Figueiredo, 2025. "Bilateral agreements and imbalances in international trade," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 45(2), pages 710-722.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-23-00153
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    6. Baier, Scott L. & Bergstrand, Jeffrey H. & Feng, Michael, 2014. "Economic integration agreements and the margins of international trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 339-350.
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    JEL classification:

    • F1 - International Economics - - Trade

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