Hayakawa, Kazunobu—How serious is the omission of bilateral tariff rates in gravity? This paper presents a constructed dataset of worldwide bilateral tariff rates to explore the seriousness of omitting bilateral tariff rates from gravity equations. Results indicate, first, that omitting bilateral tariff rates presents no serious issue related to the omitted variable bias because coefficients fo...

Mercosur has achieved important advances like the removal of intrabloc tariff and non-tariff barriers and the establishment of a common external tariff for most products. However, its ambitious plans to deepen the integration process comprising harmonisation of policies in areas like competition policy, government procurement, technical barriers and phytosanitary measures have not been implemen...

In this paper we examine how preferential trade liberalization affects the terms of trade, external tariffs and welfare of the integrating countries and the rest of the world. Our analysis is based on a three-country, three-good, general equilibrium model with symmetric customs union (CU) members. The model generalizes previous work by considering more general consumer preferences and productio...

This paper shows that when moving from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to a Customs Union (CU), the general equilibrium impacts on Canadian GDP and welfare, of removing Rules of Origin (ROO), are potentially larger than the small effects resulting from the adoption of a common external tariff (CET). Therefore, proposals for a CU should not be dismissed solely on the basis that t...

We study the impact of import protection on relationship-specific investments, organizational choice and welfare. We show that a tariff on intermediate inputs can improve social welfare through mitigating hold-up problems. It does so if it discriminates in favor of the investing party, thereby improving its bargaining position. On the other hand, a tariff can prompt inefficient organizational c...

Trade has become the main mode of transport for many invasive species including diseases and agricultural pests. Most species are brought to their new homes unintentionally, which constitute a market failure rooted in international trade. Unless it is practical to drive invasion risk to zero, the external costs may justify a tariff. In this paper we analyze the political process likely to gover...