Linder (1961) conjectured that taste differences could impede trade flows. We extend Krugman (1980) to allow for producers that face taste heterogeneity with volatile demand. Consumers are characterized by different taste over product attributes and idiosyncratic risk. Firms face a portfolio...

What do state-owned enterprises (SOEs) do? How do they respond to market incentives? Can we expect substantial efficiency gains from trade liberalization in economies with a strong presence of SOEs? Using a new dataset of Vietnamese firms we document a set of empirical regularities...

We measure the "new" gains from trade reaped by Canada as a result of the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA). We think of the "new" gains from trade of a country as all welfare effects pertaining to changes in the set of firms serving that country as emphasized in the so-called "new" trade...

Increasing international flows of goods, services, and financial assets have been shown to increase a country's welfare through various channels. This paper studies the interaction between a country's welfare gains from international trade and its sovereign’s access to bond markets. We do so...

Border procedures around the globe can act as barriers hindering international trade. Another impact of these procedures relates to their economic resource costs. In this study, using a microeconomic framework of international trade, the potential economic gains are estimated for reductions in...

The auto sector in Pakistan has been a persistent opponent of trade liberalisation in the country. This has entailed losses to consumers in terms of higher prices, low safety and quality standards, and lack of innovation in this sector. The deletion programme, which was to result in...

We analyze the expected effects of building a rail tunnel between Lyon and Turin on i) the market shares of the established and the new suppliers, and ii) consumer surplus. The prospective project consists of a 53km rail tunnel providing freight shippers with a new alpine path. We calibrate an...

Plans for the development of high speed railways lines (HSR) in Spain are widespread. At the beginning of 2010 four HSR lines were operating in routes where the air transport mode used to be dominant. In this paper we examine through econometric means the air carriers' reaction to these HSR...

Competition on the German gasoline market is of interest for economists, competition authorities and the general public alike. In this paper, I analyse how constantly lower gasoline prices in Poland affect the prices set in the German border region. More precisely, I estimate the impact of one...

This paper examines the impact of introducing high-speed trains on consumer welfare using South Korean transportation industry data. The model treats the rail company's choice of train schedules as endogenous in order to take the firm's choices of product line into account. I estimate a model of...