The great recession of 2008-2009 resulted in a large fall in trade relative to output. Real trade fell roughly three times more than real GDP in the U.S. and Mexico, and by a factor of five in Canada. The decline in trade and output was particularly large in sectors with high levels of...

A 2-country model with two groups of agents, workers and capitalists is presented in which economic integration results in an initial phase of catch-up, where the less industrialised country experiences the rise in both capital and labour income. Then, after a certain level of integration has...