By studying the factors underlying differences in trade performance across European economies, this paper derives six different 'trade models' for 22 EU-countries and explores their developmental and distributional dynamics. We first introduce a typology of trade models by clustering countries...

Gravity models are used to understand intra- and international trade flows. Trade costs play a central role in these models, but are not clearly observable. In order to infer these costs, different estimation methods exist. The aim of this paper is to investigate these methods on systematic...

We develop a simple estimation procedure for general equilibrium (GE) comparative static analysis of gravity models. Non-linear solvers of estimated models are replaced by (constrained) regressions. Applied economists can more readily generate results, with more intuition about the working of...

National debates over policies that affect the flow of digital information are heating up as censorship, surveillance, control over personal data, and requirements to store data locally have emerged as contentious political issues. In the coming years, governments will need to carefully craft...

By studying the factors underlying differences in trade performance across European economies, this paper derives six different “trade models” for 22 EU-countries and explores their developmental and distributional dynamics. We first introduce a typology of trade models by clustering...

This paper considers the policy options of the West Bank and Gaza (WBG) with respect to trade and the exports of labor services. It concludes that i) a non-discriminatory trade policy (NDTP) is unambiguously superior to an FTA with Israel; ii) the WBG should pursue a NDTP with all its neighbors,...

We set up two rival Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models of world trade, one based on classical theories of comparative advantage, the other based on recent gravity theories. We have tested them by indirect inference on the time-series of trade facts for five major countries or country...

We review theoretical and empirical work on the economic effects of the United States and China trade relations during the last decades. We first discuss the origins of the China shock, its measurement, and present methods used to study its economic effects on different outcomes. We then focus...

European integration, which culminated in the completion of the Single Market, the single currency and successive enlargements, is now faced with the question of strategic autonomy. Against this backdrop, the present paper has three objectives. First, it assesses the benefits of EU membership...