Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/59152 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2010
Series/Report no.: 
Center Discussion Paper No. 986
Publisher: 
Yale University, Economic Growth Center, New Haven, CT
Abstract: 
This paper introduces habit formation into an otherwise standard model of international trade. Household tastes evolve over time to favor foods consumed as a child. The opening of trade causes preferred goods to rise in price, as these were relatively inexpensive in autarky. Neglecting the correlation between tastes and agro-climatic endowments overstates the short-run nutritional gains from agricultural trade liberalization and masks potential caloric losses for laborers. I examine the predictions of this model of trade with habit formation using household survey data from India, both by looking across Indian regions and by examining the consumption patterns of inter-state migrants.
Subjects: 
international trade
habit formation
India
tastes
nutrition
JEL: 
O10
O12
Q17
F10
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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