How should society allocate policy-making between the legislative and the executive branches of government? We analyze a model in which biased and polarized policymakers set policy in response to shocks. We show that policy issues for which the policy-maker bias is small relative to the degree...

This paper uses data on directional trade flows and Regional Trade Agreements (RTA) to i) estimate the effects of RTA on trade flows and ii) assess the importance of Global Value Chains for these effects. Based on a Difference-in-Difference identification strategy, we find that RTAs are...

This paper uses data on directional trade flows and Regional Trade Agreements (RTA) to i) estimate the effects of RTA on trade flows and ii) assess the importance of Global Value Chains for these effects. Based on a Difference-in- Difference identification strategy, we find that RTAs are...

Following the economic recession of 2009-11, the U.S. Congress approved legislation weakening the information disclosure requirements for small companies seeking financing in public and private markets. This policy has been criticized by analysts who warn against a reduction in investors'...

This FEDS Note looks at the effect of Regional Trade Agreements on trade between the agreement zone and the rest of the world. Global Value Chains are associated with an increase in outflow. Hence, RTAs can be a stumbling block for multilateralism