Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/117715 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
Hannover Economic Papers (HEP) No. 553
Publisher: 
Leibniz Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Hannover
Abstract: 
This paper introduces a new trade model type. It combines the gravity model, well-known in international economics, with network theory. With this approach, complicated trade networks can be algebraically solved in form of systems of linear (differential) equations. Business cycles and productivity shocks can be represented via complex numbers or the Laplace transformation. With the help of this model, new mechanisms of international trade are identified. Four theoretical examples with numerical applications are presented. First, it is demonstrated how an increase in trade from Asia to North America affects the world economy. Second, an intuitive rule for finding the welfare-optimal tariff is derived. Third, three possibilities for vanishing trade effects (fluctuations) are explained: trade diversion, the 'river-island effect', and overlapping business cycles. Fourth, it is shown how adjustment costs delay the propagation of shocks or business cycles.
Subjects: 
international trade
gravity model
network theory
business cycles
propagation of shocks
JEL: 
F11
F42
F44
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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