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Border Effects and Border Regions: Lessons from the German Unification

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  • Nitsch, Volker

Abstract

This paper examines data on trade flows between West German Bundesländer (federal states) and East Germany to explore the effect of national borders on trade. Although the data cover only a small fraction of intra-German trade flows, I find a home bias of about factor 2.2; West German shipments to East Germany are about 120% larger than deliveries to an otherwise similar foreign country. Based on this result, possible implications for border regions are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Nitsch, Volker, 2002. "Border Effects and Border Regions: Lessons from the German Unification," Discussion Paper Series 26291, Hamburg Institute of International Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:hwwadp:26291
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.26291
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Nuria Gallego & Carlos Llano & Tamara De La Mata & Jorge DÍaz-Lanchas, 2015. "Intranational Home Bias in the Presence of Wholesalers, Hub-spoke Structures and Multimodal Transport Deliveries," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(3), pages 369-399, September.
    2. Buch, Claudia M. & Toubal, Farid, 2009. "Openness and growth: The long shadow of the Berlin Wall," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 409-422, September.
    3. Matthias Helble, 2007. "Border Effect Estimates for France and Germany Combining International Trade and Intranational Transport Flows," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 143(3), pages 433-463, October.
    4. Volker Nitsch & Nikolaus Wolf, 2013. "Tear down this wall: on the persistence of borders in trade," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(1), pages 154-179, February.
    5. Ghemawat, Pankaj & Llano, Carlos & Requena, Francisco, 2009. "Rethinking regional competitiveness: Catalonia's international and interregional trade, 1995-2006," IESE Research Papers D/802, IESE Business School.
    6. repec:dau:papers:123456789/7448 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Miguel Almunia & Pol Antràs & David Lopez-Rodriguez & Eduardo Morales, 2021. "Venting Out: Exports during a Domestic Slump," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(11), pages 3611-3662, November.
    8. Boffa,Mauro & Varela,Gonzalo J., 2019. "Integration and Price Transmission in Key Food Commodity Markets in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8755, The World Bank.
    9. Marie Daumal & Soledad Zignago, 2010. "Measure and determinants of border effects of Brazilian states," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(4), pages 735-758, November.
    10. Nuria Gallego & Carlos Llano, 2014. "The Border Effect and the Nonlinear Relationship between Trade and Distance," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 1016-1048, November.
    11. Brakman, Steven & Garretsen, Harry & Schramm, Marc, 2002. "The final frontier? Border effects and German regional wages," HWWA Discussion Papers 197, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWA).
    12. Smits, Jan, 2005. "Diversity of Contract Law and the European Internal Market," MPRA Paper 8192, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Lafourcade, Miren & Mayer, Thierry, 2003. "Can Business and Social Networks Explain the Border Effect Puzzle?," CEPR Discussion Papers 3750, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    14. Marius Klein & Ferdinand Rauch, 2023. "Market Access and the Arrow of Time," CESifo Working Paper Series 10279, CESifo.
    15. Wolf, Nikolaus, 2006. "Was Germany ever united? Borders and domestic trade, 1885 - 1933," Discussion Papers 2006/4, Free University Berlin, School of Business & Economics.
    16. Francisco Requena & Carlos Llano, 2010. "The border effects in Spain: an industry-level analysis," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 37(4), pages 455-476, November.
    17. Mitze, Timo & Alecke, Björn & Untiedt, Gerhard, 2008. "Trade, FDI and Cross-Variable Linkages: A German (Macro-)Regional Perspective," MPRA Paper 12245, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Olivier Lamotte, 2003. "Disintegration and trade in South-eastern Europe," Cahiers de la Maison des Sciences Economiques j04031, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1).
    19. Dimitris Kallioras & George Petrakos & Georgios Fotopoulos, 2005. "Economic integration, regional structural change and cohesion in the EU new member-states," ERSA conference papers ersa05p383, European Regional Science Association.
    20. Ulrich Zierahn, 2012. "The effect of market access on the labor market: Evidence from German reunification," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201239, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    21. Male, Rachel, 2010. "Business Cycle Persistence in Developing Countries: Can a DSGE Model with a Vertical Production Chain and Sticky Prices Reproduce the Stylised Facts?," Conference papers 332023, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    22. Brakman, Steven & Garretsen, Harry & Schramm, Marc, 2002. "The Final Frontier? Border Effects and German Regional Wages," Discussion Paper Series 26233, Hamburg Institute of International Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    International Relations/Trade;

    JEL classification:

    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade

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