The distance puzzle has been wildly discussed in the literature since Leamer and Levinsohn (1995) shed the light on it. This puzzle simply says that "the world is not getting smaller": distance still matters to account for trade. This is reflected in a decreasing distance of trade (DOT), or in a...

I investigate the effect of changing language skills on trade using an unique panel data set on spoken language. It tracks over thirty, mostly European, countries from the mid-90s to the beginning of the 2010s. In this period, European countries have witnessed an advancing trade integration and...

Through joining the European Economic and Monetary Union a heterogeneous influence of member states cannot be avoided but all countries follow the logic of the economic benefits of unification. Besides reducing transaction costs, greater transparency in prices and the elimination of the...