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Product Variety, the Cost of Living and Welfare Across Countries

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  • Alberto Cavallo
  • Robert C. Feenstra
  • Robert Inklaar

Abstract

We use the structure of the Melitz (2003) model to compare the cost of living and welfare across countries, while incorporating product variety measured by the count of barcodes or firms. For 47 countries, we compare welfare relative to the United States to conventional measures of real consumption. Relative welfare is similar to or higher than that indicated by real consumption for a select group of nations in Europe and some large countries like China and Russia, but lower in most other countries. This qualitative pattern has some similarities to that found in Jones and Klenow (2016), but for very different reasons.

Suggested Citation

  • Alberto Cavallo & Robert C. Feenstra & Robert Inklaar, 2021. "Product Variety, the Cost of Living and Welfare Across Countries," NBER Working Papers 28711, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28711
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    1. Alberto Cavallo, 2017. "Are Online and Offline Prices Similar? Evidence from Large Multi-channel Retailers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(1), pages 283-303, January.
    2. Robert Inklaar & Marcel P. Timmer, 2014. "The Relative Price of Services," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 60(4), pages 727-746, December.
    3. Timmer, Marcel P. & Los, Bart & Stehrer, Robert & de Vries, Gaaitzen J., 2016. "An Anatomy of the Global Trade Slowdown based on the WIOD 2016 Release," GGDC Research Memorandum GD-162, Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen.
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    Cited by:

    1. Borraz, Fernando & Zipitría, Leandro, 2024. "Assessing Long-Run Price Convergence in Retailing," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1424, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    2. Cavallo, Alberto & Kryvtsov, Oleksiy, 2023. "What can stockouts tell us about inflation? Evidence from online micro data," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    3. Zheng, Han & Hongtao, Li, 2022. "Transportation Infrastructure and Trade," Discussion paper series HIAS-E-119, Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study, Hitotsubashi University.
    4. Han, Zheng & Li, Hongtao, 2022. "Transportation infrastructure and trade," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    5. Gouel, Christophe & Jean, Sébastien, 2023. "Love of variety and gains from trade," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E01 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth; Environmental Accounts
    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation

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