The pattern of trade observed from firm-product-country data calls for a new generation of models. To address the unexplained variation in the data, we propose a new model of monopolistic competition where varieties enter preferences non-symmetrically, capturing both horizontal and vertical...

Existing studies show that intermediaries can help verify or screen product quality for buyers. This paper examines this claim both theoretically and empirically in the context of international trade. We develop a heterogeneous-firm model that features vertical and horizontal differentiations of...

This paper investigates the determinants of Spanish vertical intra-industrytrade with a large sample of countries. We empirically test the comparative advantageexplanation. For this aim, we build physical, human and technologicalcapital stocks. On average, when using OLS techniques, differences...

In recent years empirical studies offer clear evidence on the increasing importance of intra-industry trade in presence of vertically differentiated products. These are goods that, within the same industry, are distinguished by different quality levels. In the new trade theory and in the...

In this paper, we study the nature of Spanish intra-industry trade and find that intra-industry trade with CEEC, Asian and Mediterranean countries has increased considerably since the middle of the Nineties. The second aim of the paper is to study if the comparative advantage argument also...

In this paper, we study the nature of Spanish intra-industry trade and find that intra-industry trade with CEEC, Asian and Mediterranean countries has increased considerably since the middle of the Nineties. The second aim of the paper is to study if the comparative advantage argument also...

This paper discusses a model of the New Economic Geography, in which the seminal core-periphery model of Krugman (1991) is extended by endogenous research activities. Beyond the common ’anonymous’ consideration of R&D expenditures within fixed costs, this model introduces vertical product...

This paper analyzes the influences of human capital and technology transfers from R&D activities on regional export specialization along the range of product quality. Previous literature on specialization and trade in quality differentiated goods concludes that the production of high quality...