Trade Costs and Some Puzzles in International Macroeconomics

Obstfeld and Rogoff (2001) argue that trade costs provide at least part of the explanation for a number of puzzles in international macroeconomics. Using data on imports to the United States from developed economies, this paper investigates whether trade costs are associated with correlations associated with three of these puzzles: the Feldstein-Horioka saving-investment puzzle; the purchasing power parity real exchange rate persistence puzzle; and the international consumption correlation puzzle. In general there is some evidence in support of Obstfeld and Rogoff’s argument, though the parameters are often imprecisely estimated.