This paper proposes to reexamine the GATT/WTO membership effect on bilateral trade flows, using nonparametric methods including pair-matching, permutation tests, and a Rosenbaum (2002) sensitivity analysis. Taken together in a coherent manner, these methods provide an estimation framework that is robust to misspecification biases, allows general forms of heterogeneous treatment effects, and add...

Much foreign direct investment (FDI) takes the form of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). It is commonplace in finance to view acquisitions as manifestations of the market for corporate control. Following on that insight we propose a model of FDI in which headquarters bid to control overseas assets. We derive an equation for bilateral FDI stocks that resembles the recently developed fixed effects ...

Drawing on a new and comprehensive measure of logistics quality, our gravity model suggests logistics in the exporting and partner-country can have an important impact on bilateral exports. A one standard deviation improvement in the exporter’s logistics quality, which for example would improve Gabon to the level of Guinea, would raise exports by almost 60%. Landlocked countries’ exports depend...

This paper investigates the link between foreign aid and exports between the two shores of the Mediterranean. The main hypothesis is that the Euro-Mediterranean Process should promote not only trade but also stronger links between the European Union (EU) and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Hence, we expect development aid to have a positive impact on exports, which could also intensify...

This study seeks to identify the internal and external factors determining Ethiopia’s bilateral exports total trade flows. It uses panel data covering 21 major trading partners of Ethiopia from 2000 2017 estimates an augmented fixed effects gravity model. The results reveal that domestic foreign revenues increase exports, whereas country’s direct investment population size decrease exports. fur...

M ERCHANDISE trade is by far the best documented aspect of international economic relations. Trade data therefore offer a rich source of information on patterns and shifts in the allocation of economic activity around the globe. In this paper I describe global merchandise trade flows through the lens of intra-industry trade (IIT) indices, which quantify the extent to which bilateral imports and...

This paper estimates gravity models for both directions of trade between the EU-15 and the CEEC-10. The two groups form a heterogeneous integrated area (EU-27) with respect to country size, income levels, relative factor endowments and a different history of economic systems. The estimation was conducted on industries with different degrees of scale economies and factor-intensities in the prese...