This volume was prepared by Sebastian Benz while he was working at the Ifo Institute. It was completed in December 2013 and accepted as a doctoral thesis by the Department of Economics at the University of Munich. It includes five self-contained chapters. All chapters discuss different...

Trade theories predict and explain the consequences of economic integration. Generally, they show that freer international trade leads to specialisation, technological convergence and faster economic growth. This study compares the conclusions of the trade theories with empirical observations of...