Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study aims to analyze trade flows of the main products of the agricultural sector (soybean, tobacco and meat) exported by the Southern Region of Brazil, its main market destinations (Argentina, China, United States and European Union), through a gravity model for estimation of panel data, with the approach of ordinary least squares (OLS - pooled) in the period 2000-2012. Finally, the estimation of the gravity model results showed that the estimates follow the seminal works of economic literature, demonstrating that the flows of the agricultural sector of the Southern Region suffer negative influence of the distance between countries and, on the other hand, positively, in relation to mass population and the real exchange rate on trade flows between countries/regions considered in the analysis period. / O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar os fluxos de comércio dos principais produtos do setor agropecuário (soja, fumo e carnes) exportados pela Região Sul do Brasil, a seus principais mercado de destinos (Argentina, China, Estados Unidos e União Europeia), através de um modelo gravitacional, por estimação de dados em painel, com a abordagem de mínimos quadrados ordinários (MQO pooled), no período de 2000 a 2012. Enfim, a estimação do modelo gravitacional apresentou resultados, que seguem as estimativas dos trabalhos seminais da literatura econômica, onde se demonstra que os fluxos do setor agropecuário da Região Sul sofrem influência negativa da distância entre os países e, por outro lado, positivamente, em relação à massa populacional e a taxa de câmbio real sobre os fluxos comerciais entre os países/regiões consideradas, no período analisado.

Bibliographic note Papoušek Radan. Gravity model and efficiency of trade between China and EU countries: Visegrad group, Germany, Austria. Praha 2017. 87 p. Master's thesis (Mgr.) Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Eco- nomic Studies. Supervisor: doc. Ing. Vladimír Benáček CSc. Character count: 115 210 Abstract The thesis analyzes bilateral trade between China and Visegrad group (V4), Austria, and Germany. I use panel data of 23 countries across 1995-2015 to esti- mate gravity model. I compare the countries among themselves (time-series view) and analyze the development of the crucial variables employed in the model (cross- sectional view). Further, I estimate efficiency scores based on stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). Connecting the findings from all three perspectives provides com- prehensive picture of the trade relations of the given countries with China. The thesis reveals that accession to EU was beneficial for trade between V4 and China. Global value chains (GVCs) also help to intensify the trade exchange between the European countries and China. I find that Austria and Germany exhibit higher effi- ciency scores for their exports mainly due to better positions in global value chains. V4's trade balance with China is very sensitive to the decisions of the international...

In this study, we will show how Sweden's export is affected by changes in the exchange rate during the years 1962-2011. The regression model is built on the gravity model of trade, and is tested with both OLS and fixed effects. We have collected data from Sweden’s top 30 trading partners according to Statistiska Centralbyrån in April 2017. Three historically important regimes for Swedish exchange rate have been selected to study the short time effects on Swedish export. Those periods are 1970-1975, which is the last years of the Bretton Woods system and when it fell, 1991-1994 which is the period Sweden changed from fixed exchange rate to a floating and 2001-2006 to examine Sweden’s choice of not participate in the European Monetary Union (EMU). When analyzing the result, there is no conclusion on whether the effects of the changes in exchange rates have had a negative or positive impact on the Swedish export. The results vary depending on whether OLS or fixed effects are used. / I den här studien ska vi visa hur Sveriges export påverkats av förändringar i växelkursen under tidsperioden 1962–2011. Den använda regressionsmodellen har sin grund i gravitationsmodellen och testas med OLS och fixa effekter. Studien använder sig av Sveriges 30 största exportländer enligt Statistiska Centralbyrån i april 2017. Tre historiskt viktiga händelser för svensk växelkurs har valts ut för att undersöka de kortsiktiga effekterna på den svenska exporten. Dessa perioder är Bretton Woods systemet (1970–1975), när Sverige bytte från fast till rörlig växelkurs (1991–1994) och perioden 2001–2006 för att studera effekten av Sveriges val att stå utanför EMU. När vi analyserar resultatet finns det ingen slutgiltig slutsats av huruvida förändringar i växelkursen har haft en positiv eller negativ effekt på den svenska exporten. Resultaten varierar beroende på om OLS eller fixa effekter har använts.

Export promotion via officially supported export credits and insurance is relatively widespread around the world. The thesis describes activity of Czech Export Bank (CEB) and mentions also its legal framework in Czech system of export promotion. Text contains pros and cons of export promotion. The main part of the thesis is panel data analysis using gravity equation. This panel data involves 130 countries in period of 1996 -- 2008 with data on export, export promotion, GDP, political risk and other variables. There is investigated impact of activities of CEB on Czech export using 2 gravity models (static and dynamic). In these models export promotion is significant factor with positive impact on Czech export.

The aim of my thesis is the construction of estimates of interregional commodity flows for the regions of the Czech Republic, by using a gravity model. Gravity model is based on Newton's law of gravitation. Gravity models can be used in two different information contexts. The first is an information context, when the spatial interaction flows are known a priori, and the model is used to explain the trade flows' behaviour. And the second is an information context in which these interactions are totally unknown a priori and the flows must be estimated. This paper is focused on the second information context. When we estimating commodity flows we need to know the value of exports and imports for individual regions. Estimated interregional commodity flows are the results of this work. Estimated interregional flows are put into the regional input-output tables compiled by the Department of Economic Statistics. Regional input-output tables are arranged so as to reached the equality of resources and use. On the basis of the resulting tables for all regions, I conducted a input-output analysis. Input-output analysis examines the impact of model changes to investment on selected commodities, to estimated interregional flows and selected macroeconomic indicators.

In this dissertation, we use unique data set to examine bilateral Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) data and find determinant factors of bilateral FDI activities. In Chapter 1, we examine the relationships among the bilateral annual non-aggregated national level FDI, all levels of Economic Integration Agreements (EIAs) and political turnovers happened in both FDI exporting countries and FDI importing countries. In Chapter 2, we test the Tariff-Jumping FDI hypothesis and Export-Oriented FDI hypothesis. In Chapter 3, we examine and determine the key determinant factors of Cross-Hauling FDI status.

This dissertation builds on Cezar and Escobar's (2015) study of the relationship between institutional distance and foreign direct investment (FDI), but focuses instead on the nexus between corruption distance and FDI. Along the lines of their study, this dissertation uses a two-stage gravity model derived from the framework of heterogeneous firms to empirically estimate the impact of corruption distance on the inward and outward FDI of European transition economies. This dissertation contributes to the literature in several aspects. First, it proposes a new method for measuring corruption distance, considering the importance of firms' previous experience to the development of necessary skills for navigating a foreign business environment. Second, the empirical study distinguished the impact of corruption distance on the extensive and intensive margin by using a rich dataset with three different corruption indices, which thereby differs from most previous studies on this topic. This is also one of the few papers that specifically study this topic in the context of European transition economies. The results show that both conventional and adjusted corruption distance based on the control-of-corruption index only reduces the extensive margin of transition economies' FDI; and that the magnitude of...

The different ways countries trade with each other have developed during the years but the purpose, free exchange in goods and services, remains intact. The main idea of trade between countries is that both parties gain from the exchange. The European Union is the world’s biggest trading block, and in the form of a customs union there are mainly two different ways in which it theoretically can affect bilateral trade flows, namely by trade diversion or by trade creation. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how the European Union affects the bilateral trade flows both within the union, as well as with countries outside of it. In order to examine these effects a quantitative method will be used where a regression analysis is applied based on a gravity model, observing the years 2000–2019. The results indicate a significant positive effect of EU-membership on both trade flows with different member countries, as well as with countries without a membership. The estimations from the different regressions indicate that the bilateral trade flows between member countries increases with around 33%–40%, while bilateral trade flows with countries outside of the union increases with around 3%. / Länders sätt att handla med varandra har utvecklats genom åren men syftet, fritt utbyte av varor och tjänster, är intakt. Grundidén till handel mellan länder är att båda tjänar på utbytet. Europeiska unionen är världens största handelsblock, och som en tullunion så finns det framförallt två effekter detta kan ge på länders bilaterala handel, antingen handelsfrämjande eller handelsomfördelande. Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera hur den europeiska handelsunionen påverkar den bilaterala handeln dels med andra medlemsländer, dels med länder utanför handelsunionen. För att undersöka dessa effekter används en kvantitativ metod där en regressionsanalys genomförs med hjälp av en gravitationsmodell, där de observerade åren är år 2000–2019. Resultatet av denna studie visar ett positivt signifikant samband mellan bilateral handel med både andra medlemsländer såväl som länder utanför unionen. Estimeringarna från de olika regressionerna indikerar att den bilaterala handeln ökat mellan EU-medlemmar med cirka 33%–40% och med cirka 3% med länder utanför unionen.

Grocery stores are an important amenity in neighborhoods and access to grocery stores is important for health and well-being. While grocery store accessibility is a popular topic of research, studies measuring access for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders are extremely rare. When a new store opened in the Excelsior/Outer Mission districts of San Francisco on a street lacking basic infrastructure for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders, the importance of this study became apparent. The Excelsior/Outer Mission neighborhood has a shocking number of collisions (over 1,100 between 2015 and 2019), elevated levels of walking, biking, and transit ridership, and minimal safe infrastructure for these modes compared to other residential areas in San Francisco. To account for the effects of these conditions on accessibility, a rating system to measure infrastructure for users was used in addition to the more traditional gravity model. Combining results into a composite accessibility score highlights how using only a gravity model to measure accessibility may conceal some of the nuances of accessibility as perceived by pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders. While it appears from gravity indices that stores in the Excelsior/Outer Mission are only slightly less accessible, the sensitivity analysis shows that infrastructure can have a large effect on overall accessibility. Specifically in the Excelsior/Outer Mission neighborhood, with its rather low infrastructure scores, the higher the weight attributed to the importance of infrastructure the lower is composite accessibility. Rather than measuring accessibility using only travel time via a gravity model or other spatial model, this study shows the importance of combining physical proximity measurements with infrastructure information to provide a more complete picture. This is particularly important for those walking, biking, or riding transit where safety is an important consideration. This study provides one such way to include the unique considerations of pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders by including an infrastructure scoring system. Not only does this highlight the importance of including infrastructure measures, but it provides a framework for future infrastructure improvements around stores.

This thesis examines the impact of environmental regulations on trade competitiveness for South Asian countries. The study further investigates whether South Asian countries have become a pollutive haven of industrial exports to OECD countries during 1984-2004. The thesis also analyses whether tariff walls created by the governments to offsets stringent environmental regulations negatively affect pollutive industrial trade flows. This study has identified gaps in the literature after critically reviewing both competing trade theories and empirical literature surrounding the subject. Firstly, most of the empirical literature on the subject has focused on developed countries while ignoring less developed regions like South Asia. Second, several studies concluded trade competitiveness impact of environmental policy following a single estimation method when results are sensitive to the choice of the method used. Hence, for robust results, cross-methods analysis was imperative. Thirdly, the empirical literature on the subject focused on most pollutive industries and ignored the research on somewhat pollutive and least pollutive sectors as well as comparative analysis between those industries. This study has contributed to the literature by filling these gaps. Following the neo-classical theory, the central hypothesis of this thesis is that environmental regulations negatively affect different categories of pollutive industrial export competitiveness. By using the highest dis-aggregated ISIC level trade data and incorporating other socio-economic variables, this study has deployed comparative advantage trade models by Balassa (1965), competitiveness indicator by XU (1999), and bilateral RCA model by Grether and de Melo (2004). The study used the gravity model to control for un-observed effects over time on trade flows while capturing environmental regulations impact on pollutive industrial trade competitiveness. Accordingly, to avert endogeneity/data sensitivity issues and to ascertain robust estimates, the present research has among others computed Random Effect and Newey-West standard error models. The statistical modeling results show that while India gained trade competitiveness in most pollutive industrial trade, Pakistan and Bangladesh lost their trade competitiveness in the same category. The research finds evidence of most pollutive industries of South Asian countries increasing their bilateral RCAs and exports with OECD countries and reset of the world. A comparative analysis between most pollutive to less pollutive industries showed a lack of support for any systematic specialization patterns of trade for South Asia during 1984-2004. Nonetheless, this study findings based on gravity modeling clearly depicted a statistically significant negative impact of environmental regulations on total exports, most pollutive exports, and less pollutive industrial exports for South Asia and OECD countries. This study rejected the pollution haven hypothesis between South Asian pollutive industrial exports with OECD. It further concluded that tariff barriers created by countries to offsets environmental regulation costs would prove counterproductive to competitiveness. At the policy level, instead of lobbing for protectionism to balance out environmental regulatory costs, the governments in both developed and developing countries need to focus on forming better environmental policies fostering both competitiveness and environmental quality. Also, trade-offs between environmental regulations and competitiveness are challenging situations for South Asia and OECD countries. Therefore, sustainable production and trade policies combined with innovative and cost-effective environmental policies are needed to accomplish environmental gains and competitiveness.