This paper introduces and applies a new methodology to deal with competition among exporters of vertically differentiated products. The novel methodology is applied to Japanese imports of manufacturing goods at the most detailed level of classification. It is shown that the North lost market...

The prevalence of opening clauses in collective bargaining agreements may indicate a tendency to a higher decentralised wage settlement. Increasing competition on international product markets is assumed to be one reason for wage-setting decentralisation, whereas theoretical explanations focus...