This paper tries to understand the adoption of different organisational forms by trade intermediaries. It does that by exploring their options in a coherent economic framework emphasizing the importance of paying transaction costs. It is based both on my knowledge of 18th century French traders...

This paper shows that reduced heterogeneity of exporter-specific goods can provide a direct explanation of the distance puzzle. Using COMTRADE 4-digit bilateral trade data we find that the elasticity of trade to distance has increased by 8% from 1962 to 2009. Theoretical foundations of the...