In Bulgaria the share of secondary production in GDP remained constantly low between c. 1870–1910. To explain the country's exceptionally weak growth, we use endogenous and unified growth theory. Gerschenkron and Palairet blame a self-sufficiency-oriented peasant economy for rising labour and...

A central argument for trade liberalization is that when the 'gains from trade' are shared, countries see large gains in economic development. In this paper, I empirically evaluate this argument and assess the impact of elite capture on regional development. Africa provides a unique study ground...

We quantify the impact of large flooding events on the plant-level trade of manufacturing firms in China. Constructing a panel data set of more than 685,000 geolocated plants and provincial city and county measures of flooding events derived from precise geolocated monthly flood areas, we show...

Globally, special economic zones (SEZs) are created to boost exports and promote investment by providing units located inside the zones with certain fiscal and non-fiscal incentives that are not available to and/or are different from those given to units in the domestic tariff area (DTA). In...

Die Spannungen in der Weltwirtschaft und die Sorge um eine zu starke wirtschaftliche Abhängigkeit Europas von China rücken Indien in den Blickpunkt. Dort leben knapp 18 % der Weltbevölkerung in einer demokratischen Staatsform. Allerdings beträgt die Größe des Marktes bestenfalls ein...

Using global Multi-Region Input-Output (MRIO) data from 2005-2015, this paper empirically investigates the extent and patterns by which East African Community (EAC) countries have integrated into Global Value Chains (GVCs) and Regional Value Chains (RVCs). Results imply that the foreign content...

In 2019, the food & beverage (F&B) industry made the largest contribution to the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) and grew by an average of 7.78%, the highest growth among non-oil and gas industries. It is also the only non-oil and gas industry experiencing a trade surplus. In 2019, imports...

Nachdem die Verhandlungen zu einem institutionellen Rahmenabkommen zwischen der Schweiz und der EU wegen politisch-institutionellen Uneinigkeiten abgebrochen wurden, stellt sich die Frage, ob die bilateralen Beziehungen angesichts der gemeinsamen Interessen nicht primär im wirtschaftlichen...

Whether trade can achieve societal change is a contested topic and difficult to investigate. This round-up aims at summarizing recent empirical research on this topic while focusing on democracy and democratization as an important part of societal change. No robust results for change arising...

Drawing on selective stylized facts, the paper evaluates the growth-effects for African countries and the disruptive potentials resulting from the COVD-19 pandemic, as African countries are involved in intra-regional integration processes. As AfCFTA involving 55 countries (ratified by 22...

Global value chains (GVCs) have shaped the dynamics of globalisation in recent years. This paper reviews key concepts and tools to measure countries’ involvement in GVCs, explores recent trends and investigates the underlying drivers of GVC participation empirically. The analysis in the paper...

This paper, using a long-term, product-level cross-country dataset, analyzes the trade-growth nexus by introducing two novel indicators able to capture demand and supply attributes of countries' quality of specialization. The Keynesian efficiency index measures demand attractiveness of the...

Die militärische Eskalation in der Ukraine sowie die aufgrund der Sanktionen einsetzenden Bremseffekte für die Kapital- und Handelsströme werden die deutsche Wirtschaft auf makroökonomischer Ebene belasten. In diesem Beitrag soll ein Überblick über die direkten Handelsrisiken gegeben...

This paper analyzes the initial impact and recovery of globally engaged firms from the COVID-19 crisis. It uses rich survey data of nearly 65,000 firm-year observations in 45 countries spanning three waves of data collection. The findings are organized in a series of stylized facts, which...

Several Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) will graduate from the LDC status in the coming decade implying that they will lose preferential access to export markets. We quantify the expected impact of LDC graduation on exports of graduating and non-graduating LDCs incorporating detailed preference...

Eine Bestandsaufnahme der gegenseitigen Abhängigkeiten im Außenhandel zwischen der EU und Deutschland auf der einen Seite und China und Russland auf der anderen ist nötig, um in der Zeitenwende politische Ableitungen auf gesicherter empirischer Grundlage vornehmen zu können. Die ermittelten...

In the current global context marked by economic fragility, growing uncertainty and geopolitical conflicts, ensuring the smooth functioning of global supply chains becomes more important than ever. Supply shortages, higher freight costs, higher commodity prices and strong demand increase will...