This paper proposes new estimation techniques for gravity models with zero trade values and heteroscedasticity. We propose various Heckman estimators with different distributions of the residuals, nonlinear forms of both selection and measure equations, and various process of the variance. We...

Over the time a large number of reciprocal preferential trade agreements (RTAs) have been concluded among countries. Recently many studies have used gravity equations in order to estimate the effect of RTAs on trade flows between partners. These studies report very different estimates, since...

For more than forty years, the gravity equation has been a workhorse for cross-country empirical analyses of international trade flows and, in particular, the effects of free trade agreements (FTAs) on trade flows. However, the gravity equation is subject to the same econometric critique as...

We challenge the common practice of estimating gravity equations with time-interval data in order to capture dynamic-adjustment effects to trade-policy changes. Instead, we point to a series of advantages of using consecutive-year data recognizing dynamic-adjustment effects. Our analysis reveals...

This paper revisits the relationship between international trade and economic growth. We measure trade openness indices separately with respect to intermediate inputs and final goods and find that it is the former which turns out to be significant in explaining growth gains from trade. Using...

Economists usually inform policymakers with conclusions that come from studying the conditional expectation, i.e. arithmetic mean, of some potential outcome. But there are other means to study, from the same ‘quasilinear' family. And they can support very different conclusions. In trade...

U.S. exporters have choices when it comes to determining in which markets to sell their firms' products and services. These choices depend on several factors, including market size, income levels, price sensitivity, competition, consumer preferences, and other demand conditions in the recipient...

Recent years have witnessed numerous instances in which economic evidence has been submitted to adjudicators in the context of WTO disputes. As it turns out, adjudicators have used this evidence only hesitantly as a basis for their decisions. In this paper we argue that a number of communication...

The study of Economics as a discipline of Social Sciences has attracted a significant number of cross – disciplinary researches. A lot of emphasis has been bestowed upon the applications and implementations of the universal laws and results approved by the ‘natural' disciplines of Physical...

U.S. exporters have choices when it comes to determining in which markets to sell their firms' products and services. These choices depend on several factors, including market size, income levels, price sensitivity, competition, consumer preferences, and other demand conditions in the recipient...