The measurement of intra-industry trade between unequal partners

Summary This note argues that the inadequacy of the GL index to correctly reflect the level of intra-industry trade in presence of trade imbalances may partly be due to measuring intra-industry trade between countries with large differences in economic size. Several adjustment procedures have been suggested in the literature but it is demonstrated that none of the alternative measures seem capable of eliminating the problem. A new measure of intra-industry trade is proposed in which the bilateral level of intra-industry trade is divided by the total number of products traded between two countries to yield an average level of intra-industry trade per product. This measure may also be applied at industry level, and in contrast to the GL index, it is highly correlated with the actual level of intra-industry trade. In studies of intra-industry trade, one should cautiously interpret the GL index since it may give a false picture of the extent and the volume of intra-industry trade. If the standard GL index is used, it is suggested that also alternative measures of intra-industry trade are employed to complement the GL index in order to correctly observe the true extent of intra-industry trade.     

A note on Wiener-Kolmogorov prediction formulas for rational expectations models

A prediction formula for geometrically declining sums of future forcing variables is derived for models in which the forcing variables are generated by a vector autoregressive-moving average process. This formula is useful in deducing and characterizing cross-equation restrictions implied by linear rational expectations models.     

THE INEQUALITY OF WEALTH I N BRITAIN'S NORTH AMERICAN COLONIES: THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RELATIVELY POOR

This paper presents original estimates of the distribution of personal wealth in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1871 using the estate multiplier technique and discusses the sensitivity of estimates of the wealth distribution to the assumed wealth holdings of non-probated decedents. We examine, in particular, the implications of assuming: (1) that non-probated decedents had zero wealth, (2) that the wealth distribution was quasi-Paretian (with parameters that can be estimated from the distribution of wealth of probated decedents) or (3) that the wealth distribution had the form assumed by A. H. Jones in her analysis of wealth inequality in the Thirteen Colonies in 1774. We conclude that it is unlikely that large estates escaped the probate process in Nova Scotia, but it is also unlikely that all non-probated decedents had equal wealth-thus our "best guess" is that the wealth distribution of non-probated decedents was quasi-Paretian. However, a methodology similar to Jones' would have implied considerably less measured inequality in the wealth distribution and greater average wealth in 1871– and would therefore have altered our perception of long term trends in the distribution of wealth and in the rate of accumulation of wealth. The measurement of wealth inequality in a society with a significant slave population, such as the thirteen colonies in 1774, is also highly sensitive to the treatment of slavery. Our preferred estimates of wealth inequality in Nova Scotia in 1871 and in the Thirteen Colonies in 1774 indicate a much higher inequality in the distribution of personal wealth than exists today.     

The product pattern of intra-industry trade: Stability among countries and over time

Zusammenfassung Die Güterstruktur des intraindustriellen Handels: Stabilit?t zwischen den L?ndern und im Zeitablauf. - Gem?\ der vierstelligen ISIC schwankt der Anteil des intraindustriellen Handels am gesamten Au\enhandel mit Industriegütern für eine Gruppe von elf Industriel?ndern zwischen 35 und 80 Prozent. Der intraindustrielle Handel spielt zwischen den Industriel?ndern und hier insbesondere in Europa eine bedeutend gr?\ere Rolle als im Verh?ltnis zwischen Industrie- und Entwicklungsl?ndern. Sein Anteil scheint im Handel zwischen zwei L?ndern um so gr?\er zu sein, je geringer der Unterschied im Durchschnittseinkommen und je kleiner die geographische Distanz zwischen den Handelspartnern ist. Au\erdem findet der intraindustrielle Handel zwischen Industrie- und Entwicklungsl?ndern nicht in denselben Produktgruppen statt wie in denjenigen zwischen entwickelten L?ndern. Es besteht allerdings eine Tendenz, da\ sich die Güterstruktur im Handel der Industrie- und Entwicklungsl?nder im Laufe der Zeit angleicht. Im Gegensatz zu theoretisch fundierten Erwartungen ist der intraindustrielle Handel nicht auf Konsumgüter beschr?nkt, sondern auch für Investitionsgüter und Halbfabrikate wichtig.

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Résumé Le commerce intra-industriel par produit: La stabilité de la structure parmi des pays et sur temps. - Mesuré sur le niveau 4 chiffres d’ISIC, la portion du commerce intra-industriel en commerce extérieur total dans le secteur manufacturier varie entre 35 et 80 pour cent pour un échantillon de onze pays industriels. Le commerce intra-industriel est beaucoup plus important parmi les pays développés, particulièrement en Europe, qu’entre les pays développés et développants. La portion du commerce intra-industriel en commerce total de deux pays tend à monter si la différence en revenu moyen et la distance géographique entre les deux partenaires commerciaux tend à baisser. De plus, deux-voies commerce entre les pays développés et développants ne se passe dans les mêmes groupes de biens que celui entre les pays developpés. En contraste de ce qu’on peut attendre de l’analyse théorique le commerce intra-industriel n’est pas limité aux biens de consommation, mais il est aussi important pour les biens d’investissement et les biens demi-fabriqués.

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Resumen El perfil del comercio intrasectorial a nivel de productos: estabilidad entre países y en el tiempo. - La participatión del comercio intrasectorial, medida al nivel de 4 dígitos de la CIIU, en el total del comercio internacional de manufacturas varía entre un 35 y un 80 por ciento en una muestra de 11 países industriales. El comercio intrasectorial tiene mayor importancia para el comercio entre países desarrollados, particularmente entre los de Europa, que para el comercio entre países desarrollados y países en desarrollo. La participación del comercio intrasectorial en el total del comercio entre dos países tiende a ser más alta, cuanto menor sea la diferencia entre el ingreso medio y la distancia geográfica entre los dos. Además, el comercio entre países desarrollados y en desarrollo no abarca las mismas ramas que el comercio intrasectorial entre países desarrollados. Contrariamente a lo comúnmente esperado, el comercio intrasectorial se da no sólo en bienes de consumo sino también en bienes de capital y en productos semielaborados.

     

Regulation of Location-Specific Externalities from Small-Scale Polluters

Environmental and Resource Economics - Emission damages caused by small-scale polluters such as farms, vehicles, homes and small businesses are often location-specific and such polluters are often...     

Exclusive versus Common Dealership

In a setting with two differentiated producers and identical retailers, we analyzed whether the producers will have a distribution system with one or several retailers. In contrast to the existing literature, we allow for full foreclosure under both types of distribution systems. We find, in contrast to what has been shown in the received literature, that the producers will prefer a distribution system with a single common retailer to a system with separate exclusive dealers.     

Entitlements to continued life and the evaluation of population health

Review of Economic Design - We analyze the implications of axioms formalizing entitlements to continued life for the evaluation of population health, when combined with basic structural axioms. A...     

Moments of cross-sectional stock market returns and the German business cycle

Based on monthly data covering the period from 1987 to 2021, we analyse whether cross-sectional moments of stock market returns may provide information about the future position of the German business cycle. We apply in-sample forecasting regressions with and without leading indicators as control variables, pseudo-out-of-sample exercises, autoregressive distributed lag models, and impulse-response functions estimated by local projections. We find in-sample predictive power of the first and third cross-section moments for the future growth of industrial production, even if one controls for well-established leading indicators for the German business cycle. Out-of-sample tests show that these variables reduce the relative mean squared error compared with benchmark models. We do not find a long-run relation between the moment series and industrial production. The dynamic response of industrial production to a shock on the cross-section moments is in line with the other results.