The "border effect" literature finds that political borders have a very large impact on relative prices, implicitly adding several thousands of miles to trade. In this paper we show that the standard empirical specification suffers from selection bias, and propose a new methodology based on...

Based on a broad set of regional aggregated and disaggregated consumer price index (CPI) data from major industrialized countries in Asia, North America and Europe we are examining the role that national borders play for goods market integration. In line with the existing literature we find that...

We use consumer price data for 205 cities/regions in 21 countries to study PPP deviations before, during and after the major currency crises of the 1990s. We combine data from industrialized nations in North America (Unites States, Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal),...

Real exchange rates influence the competitiveness of tradable goods produced in a country, and thus the latter’s external balance. In the short-run, real exchange rates are influenced by real, as well as monetary variables. With a view to maintain their competitiveness in international...

This paper examines the effects of the demand management policies and external shocks on the trade balance and real income in a small open economy. In addition to the Marshall-Lerner condition, it analyzes the conditions that must be met in so far that a currency devaluation may improve the...

We document basic facts about prices in online markets in the U.S. and Canada, a rapidly growing segment of the retail sector. Relative to prices in regular stores, prices in online markets are more flexible as well as exhibit stronger pass-through (60-75 percent) and faster convergence...

Using a two-country general equilibrium model, this paper analytically derives the possibility of positive welfare consequences of vehicle currency use in invoicing international trades. Such vehicle currency use is prominent in the data. The literature points out welfare loss under optimal...

The “impossible trinity” refers to the impossibility of the simultaneous presence of a fixed exchange rate regime, uncovered interest parity and the Central Bank?s control over the money supply. I apply this to Krugman?s (1979) balance of payments crisis model, where he argued that there is...

We use consumer price data for 81 European cities (in Germany, Austria, Finland, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland) to study the impact of the introduction of the euro on goods market integration. Employing both aggregated and disaggregated consumer price index (CPI) data we confirm...