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Scarcity Nationalism during COVID-19 : Identifying the Impact on Trade Costs

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  • Egger,Peter H.
  • Masllorens.Gerard
  • Rocha Gaffurri,Nadia Patrizia
  • Ruta,Michele

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries used export and import policy as a tool to expandthe availability of scarce critical medical products in the domestic market (scarcity nationalism). This paper assessesthe direct and indirect (via trade in intermediates) increases in trade costs of critical medical goods resultingfrom these uncooperative policies. The results show that scarcity nationalism led to substantial increases in tradecosts between February 2020 and December 2021 for most COVID-19 critical medical products, particularly garments(for example, face masks) and ventilators. The exception is vaccines, which saw a reduction in trade costs, which,however, was driven by the reduction in indirect trade costs for high-income countries, consistent with the view of aCOVID-19 vaccine production club.

Suggested Citation

  • Egger,Peter H. & Masllorens.Gerard & Rocha Gaffurri,Nadia Patrizia & Ruta,Michele, 2022. "Scarcity Nationalism during COVID-19 : Identifying the Impact on Trade Costs," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10237, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10237
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    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade

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