This paper reports on the user-oriented development of a nomadic exhibition guide for trade fair visitors. The system is situation aware, and personalized, supporting all phases from planning at home, over the mobile situation when visiting the exhibition, until the evaluation afterwards. The prototypical implementation of the system at a trade fair was basis for a final user evaluation. Users ...

We analyze geographic patterns of trade using transactions data from eBay and MercadoLibre, two large online auction sites. We find that distance continues to be an important deterrent to trade between geographically separated buyers and sellers, though at a lesser extent than has been observed in studies of non-Internet commerce. We also find a strong “home bias” towards trading with counterpa...

We use the new dataset of trade flows across 269 European regions in 24 countries constructed Santamaría et al. (2020) to systematically explore for first time patterns within and country borders. focus on differences between home trade, foreign trade. document following facts: (i) regional has a strong bias, (ii) geographic distance national borders are important determinants but cannot explai...

We study how competitive pressure influences the make-or-buy decision that oligopolistic firms face between producing an intermediate component in-house or purchasing it from a domestic supplier. We model outsourcing as a bilateral relationship in which the supplier undertakes relationship-specific investments. A home and foreign firm compete in the home market. Firms’ mode of operation decisio...

This paper analyzes the effect of immigrants’ networks on the decision of individual firms to starting exporting to the immigrants’ home country. Existing evidence on the trade-creating effect of immigrants show a robust effect, however at the national or regional level. Using French exports at the firm-level to 61 countries, I find that increasing the number of foreign immigrants in the region...

We study the optimal combination of corporate tax rate and tax base in a model of a small open economy with heterogeneous firms. We show that it is optimal for the small country’s government to effectively subsidize capital inputs by granting a tax allowance in excess of the true costs of capital. Economic integration reduces the optimal capital subsidy and drives low-productivity firms from th...

This paper investigates Samuelson’s (JEP, 2004) argument that technical progress of the trade partner may hurt the home country. We illustrate this prospect in a simple Ricardian model for situations with outward knowledge spillovers. Within this framework Samuelson’s Act II effects may occur. Based on industry level panel data for seventeen OECD countries for the period 1973 to 2000 we show ec...

Can the presence of nontraded consumption goods or nontraded factors of production explain the high degree of ‘‘home bias’’ displayed by investor portfolios? We find that the answer is no, so long as individuals have access to free international trade in financial assets. In particular, it is never optimal to exhibit home bias with respect to domestic traded-good equities. By contrast, holdings...

ii DISCLAIMER This document has been reviewed in accordance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency policy and approved for publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. Note: This document may undergo revisions in the future. The most up-to-date version will be made available electronically via the IRIS Home Page at

This paper is concerned with the saddle-path stability of monetary growth rules in a two-country two-sector dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model. Alongside standard features of emerging economies, such as a combination of producer and local currency pricing for exports, fiscal dominance and oil exports, this model also incorporates informal labour and production sectors and examines how...