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The increasing share of low-value transactions in international trade

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  • Ra'ul M'inguez
  • Asier Minondo

Abstract

This paper documents a new feature of international trade: the increase in the share of low-value transactions in the total volume of transactions. Using Spanish data, we show that the share of low-value transactions in the total number of transactions increased from 9% to 61% in exports and from 14% to 54% in imports between 1997 and 2023. The increase in the number of low-value trade transactions is explained by the rise of e-commerce and direct-to-customer sales facilitated by online retail platforms, and the fast-fashion strategy followed by clothing firms.

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  • Ra'ul M'inguez & Asier Minondo, 2024. "The increasing share of low-value transactions in international trade," Papers 2407.15509, arXiv.org, revised Sep 2024.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2407.15509
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    References listed on IDEAS

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