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The Importance of Consumer Taste in Trade

Author

Listed:
  • Vandenbussche, Hylke
  • Aw-Roberts, Bee Yan
  • Lee, Yi

Abstract

This paper documents the importance of consumer taste in the food industry using Belgian firm-product customs data by destination. We identify consumer taste through the use of a control function approach and estimate it jointly with other demand parameters using a very flexible demand specification. The results show that taste decreases in distance but this relationship is not monotonic. The contribution of consumer taste to actual export revenue ranges from 1% to 31% depending on the product category in the food industry. On average, consumer taste explains about as much of the variation in exports as marginal costs.

Suggested Citation

  • Vandenbussche, Hylke & Aw-Roberts, Bee Yan & Lee, Yi, 2019. "The Importance of Consumer Taste in Trade," CEPR Discussion Papers 13614, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:13614
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    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation

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