The study examines the effect of financial crises on international trade with a gravity approach and a large data set covering almost 70 importing and 200 exporting countries from 1950 to 2009. Thus it is possible to put the ‘Great Trade Collapse’ witnessed during the financial crisis 2008/2009, especially for South Asian countries, into a historical perspective. Both, the period for which the crisis is observed, and the level of the trading partners’ economic development constitute important factors to explain the negative effects of a banking crisis on international trade. As the analysis indicates, financial crises have a stronger negative effect on differentiated goods compared to overall export flows. In additionthe negative effects of financial crises persist even after the income effect is accounted for. The study therefore suggests that the increasing share of differentiated goods in inter-national trade might be one possible reason for the comparatively large effect of the recent financial crisis on international trade relative to previous financial turmoil in post-war economic history.

Die Modelle der räumlichen Preistheorie sind über einen langen Zeitraum entwickelt worden und mit bekannten Namen wie Wilhelm Launhardt und August Lösch verbunden. Diese Ansätze versuchen der räumlichen Dimension des Preisbildungsprozesses auf Märkten in partialanalytischen Modellen Rechnung zu tragen. Im Buch werden Monopole, monopolistische Konkurrenz und internationaler Handel diskutiert. Dabei hat der Leser die Möglichkeit, sich über die Standardmodell hinaus mit komplexeren Strukturen vertraut zu machen. / For a long period the models of spatial pricing were developed and connected with the famous names of Wilhelm Launhardt und August Lösch. These approaches take the spatial dimension of pricing into account in partial analytical models. This publication discusses monopoly, monopolistic competition, and international trade. The reader will get a greater insight into the basic models and more complex structures.

The gravity equation is probably the most important tool in international economics to explain and estimate trade flows. However, since the gravity equation is important for political decisions, it is very important to achieve reliable results from its empirical application. Thus, it is necessary to employ the gravity equation using a theoretically and empirically proper methodology. One important discussion addresses the implausibly high measures for the impact of trade cost proxies on exports that frequently appear, especially in older works. This problem became known as the "border puzzle" (Obstfeld and Rogoff, 2001). The aim of the study is to contribute to the discussion about the suitability of the gravity equation's empirical applications. The basic idea is that trade costs between two countries could additionally depend on the exports between these two countries and not only on the (more or less) exogenous proxy variables for trade costs, as they are normally used. In this study, a new theory of endogenous trade costs is provided which shows that iceberg trade costs are likely to depend on exports. An interaction between exports and trade costs (or the gravity function and a trade cost function) leads to a simultaneity problem. Moreover, this theory can be confirmed after estimating the gravity equation with an alternative econometric strategy: A simultaneous equation system using a theory-based index to compensate for the directly immeasurable trade. A further target of the study is in its use of the comprehensive trade cost index to compute "multilateral resistances" of countries to trade, introduced in the trend-setting work by Anderson and van Wincoop (2003). These multilateral resistances are necessary to retrieve unbiased results from empirical gravity equations. A methodology was developed to make the heretofore unknown index of multilateral resistances visible. The result of the simultaneity approach and the use of constructed data for bilateral and multilateral trade costs is that the estimated direct effects of variables influencing exports decrease. The proposed methodologies of this study could help to achieve more plausible and reliable results from the gravity equation as the "workhorse for empirical studies" (Eichengreen and Irwin, 1998) of international trade.

In der vorliegenden Diplomarbeit wird untersucht welche Wirkungen der Industriegüterhandel auf die Beschäftigung im Verarbeitenden Gewerbe Indiens hat. Dazu werden die Implikationen der handelstheoretischen Modelle der Neoklassik, der Neuen sowie der Neu-Neuen Handelstheorie abgeleitet und erörtert. Es schließt sich eine empirische Analyse an, die sich an Jenkins und Sen (2006) orientiert. Dabei werden zunächst der Faktorgehalt sowie die Handelsstruktur analysiert. Um die Beschäftigungseffekte zu quantifizieren, erfolgt eine Zerlegung des Beschäftigungswachstums. Es wird auch untersucht, inwiefern die handelsinduzierte Wettbewerbsintensivierung zu einem effizienteren Arbeitseinsatz geführt hat. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die handelsinduzierten Beschäftigungseffekte im Beobachtungszeitraum zwar positiv, aber vergleichsweise gering ausgefallen sind. Gleichzeitig wirkt sich die Entwicklung der Handelsstruktur zunehmend negativ auf das potentielle Beschäftigungswachstum aus, sodass auf Basis der hier gewonnenen Erkenntnisse nicht davon auszugehen ist, dass zukünftige Handelsflüsse einen signifikanten Beitrag zur Schaffung neuer Beschäftigungsmöglichkeiten leisten können. / This paper investigates the employment effects of trade in the manufacturing sector in India. In a first step the theoretical implications of different trade theories, including the Neoclassical, the New and the New-New trade theory, are discussed. The employment effects are then analyzed from an empirical perspective, where the approach is taken from Jenkins and Sen (2006). The analysis comprises a factor content analysis of trade flows and a decomposition of employment growth. It is also examined whether the trade induced increase in competition has led to a more efficient use of labor. The results show, that the employment effects have been positive over the whole observation period. However, they are comparatively small. Additionally, the development of the trade structure lowers the potential of trade induced employment growth. Based on these results, it can be concluded that future trade flows will not significantly help to create new jobs in the manufacturing sector in India.

Dieser Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über ökonomisch und ökologisch orientierte Messansätze des nachhaltigen Wohlstands. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit wird dabei dem Bruttoindlandsprodukt (BIP) und dem Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare gewidmet. Die Debatte um die Folgeschäden von Wachstumsprozessen hat gezeigt, dass das BIP ein unzulänglicher Wohlstandsindikator ist, der systematisch verzerrte Informationen über die Nachhaltigkeit der Wohlstandsentwicklung liefert. Trotzdem sind bisher keine auf ökologische und soziale Nachhaltigkeit ausgerichteten Indikatorensysteme implementiert, um das BIP als zentralen Wohlstandsindikator zu ersetzen. Die Diskussion in der Wirtschaftswissenschaft und ökologisch orientierte Debatten scheinen sich eher auseinander entwickelt zu haben.

This paper examines the distributional effects of international trade in a general equilibrium model with heterogeneous agents and a welfare state redistributing income. The redistribution scheme is financed by a progressive income tax and gives the same absolute transfer to all individuals. Ceteris paribus, international trade leads to an increase in income per capita but also to higher income inequality on two fronts. Inter-group inequality between managers and workers increases, and intra-group inequality within the group of managers goes up as well. We show that for constant tax rates, there is an endogenous increase in the size of the welfare state that works against the increase in inequality, yet cannot offset it. The paper also sheds light on the conditions under which trade can actually lead to a Pareto improvement.

This paper investigates the effects of international trade in a general equilibrium model with heterogeneous firms where a welfare state redistributes income. We look at a very stylised progressive non-distortionary redistribution scheme. We show that for a given tax rate international trade increases income per capita, but also leads to higher income inequality. Two aspects of income inequality are examined. First, inter-group inequality between managers and workers is considered. Second, intra-group inequality within the group of managers is investigated. For a given tax rate the size of the welfare state and therefore the transfer per capita increases when going from autarky to trade. This second-round effect counteracts the primary increase in inequality, yet cannot outweigh it. Since the redistribution scheme is non-distortionary, it is possible to decrease trade-induced inequality by increasing the tax rate without jeopardising the gains from trade.

The study examines the effect of financial crises on international trade with a gravity approach and a large data set covering almost 70 importing and 200 exporting countries from 1950 to 2009. Thus it is possible to put the ‘Great Trade Collapse’ witnessed during the financial crisis 2008/2009, especially for South Asian countries, into a historical perspective. Both, the period for which the crisis is observed, and the level of the trading partners’ economic development constitute important factors to explain the negative effects of a banking crisis on international trade. As the analysis indicates, financial crises have a stronger negative effect on differentiated goods compared to overall export flows. In additionthe negative effects of financial crises persist even after the income effect is accounted for. The study therefore suggests that the increasing share of differentiated goods in inter-national trade might be one possible reason for the comparatively large effect of the recent financial crisis on international trade relative to previous financial turmoil in post-war economic history.

The gravity equation is probably the most important tool in international economics to explain and estimate trade flows. However, since the gravity equation is important for political decisions, it is very important to achieve reliable results from its empirical application. Thus, it is necessary to employ the gravity equation using a theoretically and empirically proper methodology. One important discussion addresses the implausibly high measures for the impact of trade cost proxies on exports that frequently appear, especially in older works. This problem became known as the "border puzzle" (Obstfeld and Rogoff, 2001). The aim of the study is to contribute to the discussion about the suitability of the gravity equation's empirical applications. The basic idea is that trade costs between two countries could additionally depend on the exports between these two countries and not only on the (more or less) exogenous proxy variables for trade costs, as they are normally used. In this study, a new theory of endogenous trade costs is provided which shows that iceberg trade costs are likely to depend on exports. An interaction between exports and trade costs (or the gravity function and a trade cost function) leads to a simultaneity problem. Moreover, this theory can be confirmed after estimating the gravity equation with an alternative econometric strategy: A simultaneous equation system using a theory-based index to compensate for the directly immeasurable trade. A further target of the study is in its use of the comprehensive trade cost index to compute "multilateral resistances" of countries to trade, introduced in the trend-setting work by Anderson and van Wincoop (2003). These multilateral resistances are necessary to retrieve unbiased results from empirical gravity equations. A methodology was developed to make the heretofore unknown index of multilateral resistances visible. The result of the simultaneity approach and the use of constructed data for bilateral and multilateral trade costs is that the estimated direct effects of variables influencing exports decrease. The proposed methodologies of this study could help to achieve more plausible and reliable results from the gravity equation as the "workhorse for empirical studies" (Eichengreen and Irwin, 1998) of international trade.

Diese Dissertation stellt ein strukturelles ökonometrisches Modell der Nachfrage mit direkten Netzwerkeffekten vor. Der strukturelle Ansatz ermöglicht es, den Umfang von Netzwerkeffekten and Netwerkkompatibilität zu identifizieren. Nach unserem Wissen ist es das erste Modell, das diese Identifikation im Falle von direkten Netzwerkeffekten ermöglicht. Gleichzeitig ist es der erste Versuch, den Umfang von Netzwerkkompatibilität mit ökonometrischen Methoden zu bestimmen. Das Modell wird dann angewandt, um die Nachfrage von Mobilfunkdienstleistungen, als auch den Zusammenhang zwischen ISO 9000 Normierung und internationalem Handel zu untersuchen. Die Schätzungsergebnisse führen zu interessanten wirtschaftspolitischen Folgerungen. / This thesis introduces a structural econometric model of demand exhibiting direct network effects. The structural approach we follow allows us to identify the extent of network effects and compatibility between competing networks. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first model that facilitates the identification in the case of direct network effects. At the same time, it is the first attempt to assess the degree of compatibility in an econometric framework. The model is then applied to investigate demand for mobile telecommunications service and the link between adoptions of ISO 9000 standard and international trade. The estimation results allow us to formulate some interesting policy conclusions.