Do geopolitical tensions between countries influence the cross-border asset allocation of investment funds? Our answer is yes. We estimate gravity models and find that investment funds allocate smaller shares of their portfolios to recipient countries that are geopolitically more distant to...

Ninety-five percent of Kenyan coffee is exported as green coffee in the international market in Europe. As a spot market, this presents a problem in that the currency of the foreign market differs from that of the domestic country (Kenya), resulting in an exchange rate problem. Kenya has a...

This paper quantifies the impact of the 1630-1631 Italian plague on the business activities of the Florentine merchant-bank Saminiati & Guasconi. Employing AI for handwriting recognition on over 6,000 bank letters we show that letters and goods transactions decreased by two-thirds when a...

While global value chains (GVCs) are considered an important development escalator, concerns over their environmental consequences have been increasing. By providing opportunities to shift production to developing economies, GVCs risk carbon leakage. Preferential trade agreements (PTAs) have...

The rapidly expanding importance of the Chinese economy saw a restructuring of the global trade hierarchy. While this proves challenging for all economic actors, especially peripheral economies are forced to rethink the way they interact and trade with the new emerging economy (EME) powerhouse...

The agricultural sector has experienced increased haphazard policy interventions and has been exposed to different policy uncertainties. However, relatively little empirical research has been done on how economic policy uncertainties (EPU) affect agricultural exports. Thus, this paper explores...

The dynamics of international trade play a pivotal role in shaping economic growth and development for nations worldwide. This significance is particularly pronounced in the context of India's agrarian economy. With a substantial portion of its population dependent on agriculture, engaging in...