Working Paper: NBER ID: w15628
Authors: Costas Arkolakis; Arnaud Costinot; Andres Rodriguez-Clare
Abstract: Micro-level data have had a profound influence on research in international trade over the last ten years. In many regards, this research agenda has been very successful. New stylized facts have been uncovered and new trade models have been developed to explain these facts. In this paper we investigate to which extent answers to new micro-level questions have affected answers to an old and central question in the field: How large are the gains from trade? A crude summary of our results is: "So far, not much."
Keywords: International Trade; Gains from Trade; Micro-level Data
JEL Codes: F1
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| trade costs (F19) | welfare (I38) |
| trade costs (F19) | consumer price index (E31) |
| consumer price index (E31) | welfare (I38) |
| expenditure on domestic goods (E20) | welfare (I38) |
| trade elasticity (H30) | welfare (I38) |
| autarky (F00) | trade (F19) |
| gains from trade (F11) | welfare (I38) |