Oil Prices, Geography and Endogenous Regionalism: Too Much Ado About (Almost) Nothing
Daniel Mirza
Habib Zitouna
Daniel Mirza
Habib Zitouna
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This paper studies the effect of oil prices on the geography of international trade. We model transport costs as a function of variable and fixed costs. By affecting the first cost component, oil prices can then modify the structure of transportation costs across partners. This, we argue, acts as a factor of distortion in relative prices, thereby creating a reallocation of trade at the expense of remote countries. In that respect, an increase in oil prices should favor regionalism.
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