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Import Quality in Former Centrally Planned EU Countries

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  • Vincenzo Merella
  • Josef Tauser

Abstract

In the last two decades, initiatives promoted by the media and national public o¢ cials of several European former centrally planned (FCP) countries have induced the EU to produce inquiries, re- ports, and directives regarding products’price and quality di¤erentials between FCP and non-FCP markets. We investigate this issue empirically by examining custom data. We …nd that such di¤eren- tials exist and can be rationalized by standard international trade theories in the presence of quality di¤erentiation. Analogous evidence obtains by inspecting intra-EU trade and when the analysis is extended to exporters worldwide, showing that the matter is global and does not pertain solely to EU producers. Therefore, our …ndings suggest that the FCP countries’concerns may be unwarranted.

Suggested Citation

  • Vincenzo Merella & Josef Tauser, 2022. "Import Quality in Former Centrally Planned EU Countries," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 684 JEL Classification: F, Collegio Carlo Alberto.
    • Handle: RePEc:cca:wpaper:684
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    EU; Former Centrally Planned Countries; Import Composition; International Trade; Market Segmentation; Pricing-to-market.;
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