Comments for Trade Diversion

Comment on Don’t go to Shanghai for your Big Mac by Pierre-Louis

Pierre-Louis — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:16:24 +0000

Hi JD
I don’t know what you mean exactly by trade costs but I would add two things that explain the price differences. The first one is import tariffs (which explain, on top of VAT, why electronics are cheaper in Switzerland than in the EU, for example. The second is that, as you say, parallel imports are forbidden (you can’t buy ipads in one country and sell them on eBay in another). Hence, firms like Apple price to market. Hence GDP per capita or purchasing power is also a determinant of high prices.

Comment on The Panama Canal expansion by Can the Port of Long Beach compete with the Panama Canal? « Trade Diversion

Can the Port of Long Beach compete with the Panama Canal? « Trade Diversion — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:10:43 +0000

[...] update on the Panama Canal expansion from the Economist that focuses on the west coast’s reaction: But what can the California [...]

Comment on Discussing the US trade deficit by What we don’t learn from looking at exports/GDP « Trade Diversion

What we don’t learn from looking at exports/GDP « Trade Diversion — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:59:44 +0000

[...] deficit is the amount by which domestic investment exceeds domestic savings. These outcomes are jointly determined in general equilibrium. My story about “net profits” was an accounting analogy, not an economic [...]

Comment on The schoolboy error that will not die by What we don’t learn from looking at exports/GDP « Trade Diversion

What we don’t learn from looking at exports/GDP « Trade Diversion — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:52:29 +0000

[...] that sum to 100%. That’s not true when you talk about gross exports. We’re back to the distinction between gross values and value-added measures that I have repeatedly emphasized. What would it mean [...]

Comment on Cross-country wage comparisons by America’s Next Greatest Transformation | Economic Thought

America’s Next Greatest Transformation | Economic Thought — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:01:11 +0000

[...] I am not sure in what direction this data affects my thesis, but this table and short analysis of cross-country wage comparisons is interesting and probably has something to say one the [...]

Comment on Teferi Mergo: “Impacts of Green Card Lottery on Ethiopian Households” by Pierre-Louis

Pierre-Louis — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:55:30 +0000

Nice paper and nice initiative by the World Bank this series… that’s unusual!

Comment on “Miserly progress made on Doha trade talks” by Srikar

Srikar — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:09:15 +0000

A few thoughts on the Doha round … http://treadthemiddlepath.blogspot.com/search/label/Doha

Comment on Trade job-market papers (2011-12) by Bernardo

Bernardo — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 03:39:08 +0000

Gary Lyn, from Penn State, is going to the market with JMP joint with Andrés Rodríguez-Clare “Marshallian Externalities, Comparative Advantage and International Trade”, http://www.personal.psu.edu/gal154/. Basically revisiting Grossman & Rossi-Hansberg (QJE,2010).

Comment on Trade JMPs by Trade job-market papers (2011-12) « Trade Diversion

Trade job-market papers (2011-12) « Trade Diversion — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:37:42 +0000

[...] economists on the job market this year. I’ve pulled together an incomplete list of JMPs, like last year. As usual, I focus on trade papers, thereby neglecting international finance and open-economy macro [...]

Comment on NAFTA trucking dispute “rumbles toward a dead end” by Is the NAFTA trucking dispute finally over? « Trade Diversion

Is the NAFTA trucking dispute finally over? « Trade Diversion — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:34:42 +0000

[...] A little over a year ago, I noted that Washington insiders didn’t expect the dispute to be resolved “any time soon”, but in the broader context, 14 months isn’t bad. So what does the program do? It includes a lot of measures to address the safety concerns raised by its opponents: Supporters say especially strict safeguards have been implemented: Electronic devices will track the routes drivers take, how long they drive and how long they rest. Participating drivers must undergo national security and criminal background checks, and inspectors will administer oral English-proficiency exams. [...]