This paper discusses the design, implementation and use of standards from the perspective of transaction costs economics. A proper design and implementation of standards may lead to a considerable reduction of transaction costs, which enhances trade and, consequently, economic welfare. A major...

During the last decades, the growth of trade between China and the Netherlands has been larger than the increase in bilateral trade flows between China and most other countries. Using a time series based gravity model, this paper investigates the main determinants of this increase. The empirical...

This paper discusses the design, implementation and use of standards from the perspective of transaction costs economics. A proper design and implementation of standards may lead to a considerable reduction of transaction costs, which enhances trade and, consequently, economic welfare. A major...

See also F.A.G. den Butter, R. Hayat (2013), Trade between China and the Netherlands: a case study of trade in tasks, <I>Journal of Chinese Economic and Foreign Trade Studies</I>, 6(3), 178-191. <P> During the last decades, the growth of trade between China and the Netherlands has been larger than the...</p></i>

In this era of globalisation the traditional Ricardian theory of trade in products governed by comparative advantages is replaced by a modern theory of trade in tasks. Tasks are outsourced to those places in the world where the lower production costs outweigh the additional transaction costs...