International Economics最新文献

This paper performs a macroeconomic quasi-experiment with individual data to study how the fixed exchange-rate policy implemented in Italy between 1997 and 2000, by itself or in combination with the institutional setting, affected the growth rate of real wages among resident workers. Accounting for both observed and unobserved individual characteristics through the Difference-in-Differences estimator, we find that the fixed exchange-rate policy reduced the growth rate of real wages in the private sector, relative to the counterfactual of a flexible exchange-rate policy, which is simulated through comparable micro data from the United Kingdom. Evidence of heterogeneous treatment effects across sectors and industries is also presented.

This paper uses a network approach to study the relationship between trade agreements and trade flows. For the first time in the literature, hypergraphs are used to capture the topology of trade agreements, while the usual graphs are used to represent trade flows. For our analysis, we focused on a snapshot of data from July 2017, before CETA as an agreement in force only in September 2017. An analysis of modularity conducted on both the trade agreements and the trade flows shows an imperfect correspondence between the communities of countries found within the two networks. Although the motivations of Brexit were multiple and, for the most part, far from commercial concerns, Brexit appears as a way to reconcile the networks of flows and agreements. On the other hand, Canada already belonged to the European cluster of trade agreements before the CETA agreement, which therefore appears only as an ex post confirmation of an existing situation.

This paper analyzes the effect of competition on bank efficiency in the WAEMU, taking into account the role of multinational banks and institutional quality, using data on 141 banks from 2000 to 2019. Using Lerner then Boone indices as a proxy for competition, we apply the One-step procedure, then the 2SLS-IV to control for endogeneity, the Tobit to control for the censored dependent variable, and the GMM for robustness check. The results show that competition negatively affects bank efficiency according to the current environment and structure of the WAEMU banking system. However, this relationship between competition and efficiency is non-linear and subject to a high threshold of competition. Furthermore, the results show that multinational banks are generally less efficient but more resilient to competition due to their level of capitalization, their ability to invest in innovation, and their networks. The estimates also show that corruption and political instability reduce bank efficiency and reinforce the negative effect of competition on efficiency. The relevant authorities should continue to advocate for a better institutional and political environment to ensure that the WAEMU banking system moves toward a first order optimum.

This paper investigates the effects of cultural proximity on countries’ participation in global value chains (GVCs) using a large country-pair dataset with 60,910 observations from 1996 to 2018. GVC participation is defined as the value-added embedded in exports, looking both backward and forward from a reference nation. Trade in cultural goods is used as a proxy for time-varying and asymmetric dimensions of cultural proximity. After extensive robustness checks, our main findings reveal that cultural proximity drives up both backward and forward participation. The impacts of cultural proximity are transmitted through the following channels: sourcing cost reductions and local content requirements. These effects become stronger for geographically diverse country pairs and hold for an alternative measure of cultural goods classification and when controlling the endogeneity problem.

This paper revisits the Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek (HOV) theorem and investigates its fit for digital tasks and ICT capital, which both represent endowment factors that are expected to shape the digital transformation. We use a theory-consistent methodology for calculating the measured net factor content of trade and apply it to a unique dataset on digital and non-digital tasks performed in detailed occupations, as well as recent data on ICT capital stocks. Equipped with these data, we provide new evidence on the factor-based trade patterns for 25 EU countries and use it to test the HOV theorem. Overall, the performance of the sign test and the rank test is good, if not impressive. In 83% of the cases, countries are net exporters of those factors with which they are abundantly endowed, with a higher score achieved for digital tasks than for ICT capital. The relevance of digital tasks and ICT capital is corroborated by a gravity model, which indicates that higher endowments with these factors foster bilateral exports.

This paper provides new evidence on the dynamic dependence and connectedness between investments in Financial Technology (FinTech) and green assets across different market conditions and investment horizons. The paper uses daily data and relies on wavelets coherency and quantile-based connectedness methods. First, our results indicate that the co-movement between FinTech and green bonds and clean energy stocks is mostly positive and strongest in the long-term but weak in the short-term, indicating a high probability of large joint losses for long-term investors and hedging opportunities of FinTech stocks for short-term investors in green financial assets. Second, the level of connectedness is stronger at both tails of the return distribution and similar in the short- and long-term while in the medium-term, normal market period total connectedness became stronger than the bearish market period connectedness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, results also indicate that across all market conditions and time scales, FinTech stocks dominate most of the green financial assets as demonstrated by the net pairwise directional risk spillover. This suggests that FinTech stocks may not offer good hedging opportunities for green financial indexes. The paper provides some crucial implications based on these findings.

The paper measures the gender premium (or penalty) in productivity and innovation of firms in 32 emerging economies. We estimate whether the gender status of firms’ ownership in FDI recipient countries matters for the size of knowledge spillovers from linkages between local firms and Multinational Enterprises (MNEs). Furthermore, we explore whether the gender ownership structure of MNEs is also vital for spillovers between MNEs and local firms. Our results show that female-owned firms (both local and MNEs) are on average less productive and innovative. Although domestic firms benefit from supplying inputs to MNEs in terms of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and innovation, a gender handicap cancels out these gains potentially. Female gendered MNEs also impose a similar penalty on knowledge spillovers. As a policy implication, the paper highlights the importance of mitigating gender discrimination for improving productivity and absorptive capacity of local firms in the emerging world.

In this “Data, Tools and Replication” paper we adapt the complexity algorithm by Hidalgo and Hausmann (2009) to the financial sector and compute a measure of financial development that is intrinsically linked to its diversity dimension. We then test the impact of financial development on financial stability, economic resilience and growth, focusing on Italy. By employing an index that levers on the diversity dimension of financial development, our findings reveal that higher degrees of financial development translate into a lower financial fragility and a more resilient real economy. Indeed, territories denoted by more diverse and developed financial systems show an increased firm natality rate, a reduced firm mortality rate, and a lower probability of experiencing employment and GDP drops. Finally, higher financial development also spurs economic growth. Results are confirmed at micro-level, and higher levels of financial development and diversity decrease the probability of firms’ exit from the market and enhance their investment activity. Our findings unveil the importance of considering the diversity dimension of financial development when investigating its role on economic performance.

Growing evidence suggests that a large share of international trade transactions are made through intermediaries and that whether firms use them or not depends on different factors. The aim of this paper is to empirically investigate if credit constraints introduce a degree of difference among firms in their mode of importing. Building on the intuition provided by a simple theoretical framework, we use firm-level data from 66 developing and developed countries to test the possible links between credit constraints and reliance on import intermediaries. Our results show that indeed credit-constrained firms exhibit a higher probability of importing their inputs using an intermediary, while unconstrained firms are more likely to import directly. Our results also provide some evidence that the impact of credit constraints on the probability of indirect importing is amplified for firms with a higher distance from their international sourcing network. Moreover, if firms face other types of frictions to import, then the probability that credit-constrained firms rely on intermediaries is estimated to be higher. Remarkably, credit rationing affects the probability of indirect importing no matter what the mode of exporting is.