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Third-country effects of regional trade agreements: A firm-level analysis

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  • Lee, Woori
  • Mulabdic, Alen
  • Ruta, Michele

Abstract

How do regional trade agreements impact exporters in non-member countries? We revisit this long-standing trade policy question using firm-level data from Costa Rica and detailed information on the content of trade agreements. Differently from the conventional view on trade diversion, the analysis shows that “deep” regional trade agreements can have a positive spillover effect: they increase the probability of export and entry of third-country firms that previously exported to one of the member countries. This spillover effect is driven by provisions that are nondiscriminatory and address regulatory issues, as they make member countries more “similar”, thus allowing to reduce entry costs. Indeed, firms exporting regulation-intensive products benefit disproportionately more from deep trade agreements in destination markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Lee, Woori & Mulabdic, Alen & Ruta, Michele, 2023. "Third-country effects of regional trade agreements: A firm-level analysis," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:inecon:v:140:y:2023:i:c:s0022199622001209
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2022.103688
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    Cited by:

    1. Matteo Neri-Lainé & Gianluca Orefice & Michele Ruta, 2023. "Deep Trade Agreements and Heterogeneous Firms Exports," CESifo Working Paper Series 10436, CESifo.
    2. González-Rozada, Martín & Ruffo, Hernán, 2024. "Do trade agreements contribute to the decline in labor share? Evidence from Latin American countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    3. Yang, Yichen & Liu, Wen, 2024. "Free trade agreements and domestic value added in exports: An analysis from the network perspective," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    4. Kevin Lefebvre & Nadia Rocha & Michele Ruta, 2023. "Containing Chinese state-owned enterprises? The role of deep trade agreements," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 159(4), pages 887-920, November.
    5. Essotanam Mamba & Afi Balaki, 2023. "Deep regional trade agreement as a driver for global value chains in Africa: the case of ECOWAS region," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 2037-2068, June.
    6. Dong, Weijian & Chen, Kanxiang & Liu, Xiaojun, 2023. "Role of regional trade agreements in enhancing investments in mineral resources projects in ASEAN," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Firm-level data; Extended gravity; Regional trade agreements; Deep integration;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration

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