We propose to estimate gravity models by a Hausman and Taylor (1981) 2SLS error components approach. First, this allows to account for the possible correlation of some of the regressors with the unobserved effects, which has been ignored in previous research. Second and in contrast to the Within...

According to the conventional home-market effect, free trade tends to shrink the market share for a small economy in differentiated manufacturing goods, and in the extreme leads to a complete hollowing-out of the industry in a small economy. This paper considers the technology difference between...

It is well known that the GCC countries are heavily dependent on oil and hydrocarbon industries, but during the 2003-2008 period, economic diversification is proceeded; enhancing the role of the private sector, encouraging FDI, and laying the ground for competitive integration in the globalization...

In 1997, fourteen Arab countries concluded an agreement, aimed at achieving the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) by 1.1.2007 at the latest. This paper provides a first ex-post appraisal of the GAFTA agreement’s trade effects. Based on new theoretical developments of the gravity equation,...

The EU-sponsored Barcelona conference in 1995 set the ambitious goal of creating the Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area (EUROMED) that would include the European Union and the MENA countries by 2010. The intermediate steps towards building the EUROMED have involved bilateral “vertical” trade...

A classic argument in favor of a fixed exchange rate regime (ERR) has been the promotion of international trade between the pegging country and its base country. Results from previous literature point to a significant and highly positive effect of adopting a fixed ERR on bilateral trade between...

This paper revisits the debate on the financial stability implications of the liberalization process dynamics. We hold that the financial liberalization effect on exchange pressures changes beyond some threshold degrees. Therefore, we assess the ability of the threshold models to gauge financial...

In this paper, we assess whether trade among member countries of a regional trade agreement (intra-regional trade) contributes more to output growth than trade with nonmember countries (extra-regional trade). We use Granger causality tests to evaluate the trade-growth relationship in 13...

This paper measures financial integration among selected European Union equity markets over the period July 1990 to June 2006 using daily data. Eleven markets (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom) are included in the...

This paper develops a methodology for trade policy analysis of costs and benefits of alternative regional integration scenarios. The methodology is based on the disaggregated gravity equation, which is applied to calculate the impact of the EU enlargement on integration strategies of non-member...