The slightly simplified version of the Eaton-Kortum (EK) model that we work with has C nations each of which is endowed with a single factor of production (labor) used to produce a continuum of goods under conditions of perfect competition and constant returns. The transport costs between a typical origin nation (nation-o) and a typical destination nation (nation-d) are assumed to be of the ice...

In markets with adverse selection, only low-quality units trade in the competitive equilibrium when the average quality of the good held by sellers is low. We show that under decentralized trade, however, both highand low-quality units trade, although with delay. Moreover, when frictions are small, the surplus realized is greater than the (static) competitive surplus. Thus, decentralized trade ...

We develop a model of endogenous quality choice and trade that combines non-iceberg trade costs and non-homothetic preferences to capture the effect of importer-exporter income differences on geographic variation in quality and export prices. The differences in income substantially alter the effect of trade costs on quality. The incentive to trade high quality goods given high trade costs (the ...

This paper explores the effects of general and agricultural trade openness on economic freedom and alongside with the quality of institutions, on income and poverty. Recent cross-country data for over 200 nations in global regions were used to estimate equations for income, poverty and economic freedom. Economic freedom appears to have positive impacts on income levels, which together with good...

The gravity equation relates bilateral trade volumes to distance and country size. Countless gravity equations have been estimated, usually with “good” results, and trade theorists have proposed various theoretical explanations for gravity’s success. However, the many potential explanations for the success of the gravity equation make it a problematic tool for discriminating among trade models....

Due to the increased usage of wireless communications in personal, commercial, and governmental capacities, efficient spectrum utilization has become a prime topic of interest. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) governs spectrum usage and allocates specific ranges to licensed users. However, some spectrum ranges are overcrowded, while some are under-utilized. The overcrowded spectrum r...

This article examines the quality level of trade between Canada and the United States, 1979–2003, to investigate the relevance of staples theory for Canada. After disentangling the quality levels of trade, it is found that the pattern of quality-level trade changed significantly around the time free trade was established between Canada and the United States. Before free trade, Canada was moving...