Trade Elasticity and Vertical Specialisation

Starts: Wednesday 20 March 2013 4:00 pm
Ends: Wednesday 20 March 2013 5:00 pm
Event type Seminar
Location MJ118
Presented by: Filippo Vergara Caffarelli (Banca d'Italia)

By Ines Buono and Filippo Vergara Caffarelli

This paper argues that vertical specialisation can increase the elasticity of trade to income, hence explaining dramatic events such as the great trade collapse. We argue that a change in the extent of vertical specialisation affects the elasticity of trade to income, while a mere change in global production levels for a given extent of vertical specialisation does not. In the model we show that only large demand shocks induce firms to vary the extent of vertical specialisation. Consistently, using panel data starting from the late 90s that include the 2008-09 global crisis, we find that the correlation between trade elasticity and vertical specialisation increases precisely in years of large demand shocks, such as the ICT euphoria and the great trade collapse.

  

Contact details

Name: Dr. Russ Moro
Email: Russ.Moro@brunel.ac.uk

Page last updated: Friday 15 March 2013