We use an augmented gravity model to revisit the effect of similarity in income distributions on bilateral trade flows. Disentangling supply-side and demand-side mechanisms, we document a robust new regularity: while differences in average incomes between two countries increase trade,...

Scholars have estimated demand functions for national defense spending and investigated international arms trade for a long time. The relationship between supply and demand for military goods has, however, only been examined on aggregate level or in formal models yet. I investigate how the...

This paper deals with the effects to labour market institutions on labour market performance. We analyse the employment threshold (the minimum growth rate necessary to keep employment constant) which is an indicator for the labour intensity of production. We show for 17 OECD countries for the...

Attendance of pre-primary institutions is positively associated with PISA test scores in most countries. Several indicators of structural quality of pre-primary education are identified that can account for the variation in the estimated coefficients on pre-primary attendance across countries,...

The Schengen Agreement has guaranteed unchecked travel across internal EU borders since 1995. Has it also facilitated trade flows? Our econometric analysis suggests that Schengen has boosted trade by 3% on average (equivalent to a drop in tariffs by 0.7 percentage points). Goods trade is more...

We employ theory-grounded sectoral gravity models to estimate the effects of various steps of European product market integration on trade flows. We embed these estimates into a static Ricardian quantitative trade model featuring 43 countries and 50 goods and services sectors. Paying attention...

The currently negotiated Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the EU and the United States of America will most likely affect countries, such as Norway which have close ties to the European production networks. Based on a CGE model, developed at the ifo institute, we...