Abstract:
We develop a simple model that jointly determines the level of trade and the extent of trade-disruption risk associated with geopolitical conflict. Any pair of countries is likely to settle into one of two steady states: (i) a low level of trade coupled with high trade-disruption risk, or (ii) a high level of trade coupled with low trade-disruption risk. Intermediate cases are unstable. Examining bilateral trade flows between 1966 and 2015, we find, first, that the extent of trade varies systematically with trade-disruption risk and, second, that trade between country pairs tends to converge over time toward these polar cases.