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Sorting It Out: Technical Barriers to Trade and Industry Productivity

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  • Gabriel Felbermayr
  • Benjamin Jung

Abstract

Trade economists traditionally study the effect of lower variable trade costs. While increasingly important politically, technical barriers to trade (TBTs) have received less attention. Viewing TBTs as fixed regulatory costs related to the entry into export markets, we use a model with heterogeneous firms, trade in differentiated goods, and variable external economies of scale to sort out the rich interactions between TBT reform, input diversity, firm-level productivity, and aggregate productivity. We calibrate the model for 14 industries in order to clarify the theoretical ambiguities. Overall, our results tend to suggest beneficial effects of TBT reform but also reveal interesting sectoral variation.
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  • Gabriel Felbermayr & Benjamin Jung, 2011. "Sorting It Out: Technical Barriers to Trade and Industry Productivity," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 93-117, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:openec:v:22:y:2011:i:1:p:93-117
    DOI: 10.1007/s11079-009-9114-z
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    Cited by:

    1. Zaby, Alexandra K., 2009. "The propensity to patent in oligopolistic markets," Tübinger Diskussionsbeiträge 323, University of Tübingen, School of Business and Economics.
    2. Allan Sørensen, 2014. "Additive versus multiplicative trade costs and the gains from trade liberalizations," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 47(3), pages 1032-1046, August.
    3. Heger, Diana & Zaby, Alexandra K., 2009. "The propensity to patent with horizontally differentiated products: An empirical investigation," Tübinger Diskussionsbeiträge 324, University of Tübingen, School of Business and Economics.
    4. Felbermayr, Gabriel & Jung, Benjamin & Larch, Mario, 2012. "Tariffs and welfare in new trade theory models," University of Tübingen Working Papers in Business and Economics 41, University of Tuebingen, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, School of Business and Economics.
    5. Milena Kern & Jörg Paetzold & Hannes Winner, 2021. "Cutting red tape for trade in services," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(10), pages 2858-2886, October.
    6. Witold Czubala & Ben Shepherd & John S. Wilson, 2009. "Help or Hindrance? The Impact of Harmonised Standards on African Exports †," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE), vol. 18(5), pages 711-744, November.
    7. Gabriel Felbermayr & Benjamin Jung, 2011. "Sorting It Out: Technical Barriers to Trade and Industry Productivity," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 93-117, February.
    8. Ehsan U. Choudhri & Antonio Marasco, 2017. "Is Foreign Technological Advance Harmful in the Melitz Model?," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 149-166, February.
    9. Heger, Diana & Zaby, Alexandra K., 2009. "The propensity to patent with vertically differentiated products: An empirical investigation," Tübinger Diskussionsbeiträge 325, University of Tübingen, School of Business and Economics.
    10. Benjamin Jung, 2012. "Optimal fixed cost subsidies in Melitz-type models," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 39(1), pages 87-108, February.
    11. Heuer, Nina, 2010. "Occupation-specific south-north migration," Tübinger Diskussionsbeiträge 328, University of Tübingen, School of Business and Economics.
    12. Gouel, Christophe & Jean, Sébastien, 2023. "Love of variety and gains from trade," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    13. Jørgensen, Jan Guldager & Schröder, Philipp J.H., 2014. "Harmonization versus Mutual Recognition: Some pitfalls for the coordination of product standards under imperfect competition," Discussion Papers on Economics 23/2014, University of Southern Denmark, Department of Economics.
    14. Frontczak, Robert, 2009. "Valuing options in Heston's stochastic volatility model: Another analytical approach," Tübinger Diskussionsbeiträge 326, University of Tübingen, School of Business and Economics.
    15. Felbermayr, Gabriel & Jung, Benjamin & Larch, Mario, 2013. "Optimal tariffs, retaliation, and the welfare loss from tariff wars in the Melitz model," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 13-25.
    16. Frontczak, Robert & Schöbel, Rainer, 2008. "Pricing American options with Mellin transforms," Tübinger Diskussionsbeiträge 319, University of Tübingen, School of Business and Economics.
    17. Jörn Kleinert & Nico Zorell, 2010. "Export-Magnification Effect of Offshoring," IAW Discussion Papers 63, Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung (IAW).
    18. Kazunobu Hayakawa & Fukunari Kimura, 2015. "How Much Do Free Trade Agreements Reduce Impediments to Trade?," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 26(4), pages 711-729, September.
    19. Yvonne Wolfmayr & Michael Pfaffermayr, 2022. "The EU Services Directive: Untapped Potentials of Trade in Services," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 69628, August.
    20. Frontczak, Robert & Schöbel, Rainer, 2009. "On modified Mellin transforms, Gauss-Laguerre quadrature, and the valuation of American call options," Tübinger Diskussionsbeiträge 320, University of Tübingen, School of Business and Economics.
    21. Benjamin Jung, 2016. "Trade creating oder Trade diverting - Ökonomische Perspektiven auf den Abbau technischer Handelshemmnisse in multilateralem oder regionalem Rahmen," IAW Discussion Papers 127, Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung (IAW).
    22. Maier, Ramona & Merz, Michael, 2008. "Credibility theory and filter theory in discrete and continuous time," Tübinger Diskussionsbeiträge 318, University of Tübingen, School of Business and Economics.
    23. Shepherd, Ben, 2015. "Product Standards and Export Diversification," Journal of Economic Integration, Center for Economic Integration, Sejong University, vol. 30(2), pages 300-333.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Heterogeneous firms; International trade; Single European market; Technical barriers to trade; Regulatory costs; F12; F13; F15;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration

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