Trade elasticities

We estimate the aggregate export and import price elasticities implied by a Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES) demand system, for more than 30 countries at various stages of development. Trade elasticities are given by weighted averages of sector-specific elasticities of substitution, that we estimate structurally. Both weights and substitution elasticities can be chosen to compute the response of trade to specific shocks to relative prices, bilateral or global. We document considerable, significant cross-country heterogeneity in multi-lateral trade elasticities, which is virtually absent from estimates constrained to mimic aggregate data. The international dispersion in import price elasticities depends mostly on preference parameters, whereas export price elasticites vary with the composition of trade. We simulate the demand-based response of trade to specific exogenous shifts in international prices. We consider shocks to EMU-wide, US or China's relative prices, as well as country-specific shocks within the EMU zone. The trade responses to an external EMU-shock are considerably heterogeneous across member countries; in contrast, a within-EMU (Greek, Portuguese, German) shock to relative prices has largely homogeneous consequences on Eurozone trade patterns. PRELIMINARY AND INCOMPLETE.

Technological characteristics of 245 tropical and temperate timbers species

Developed by the Cirad's "Mediterranean and Tropical Forest Products Research Unit", the new release of TROPIX software (version 7) presents the main characteristics of 245 tropical or temperate wood species. For each species, TROPIX provides data and information on: the scientific and local names of the species described, their origins (distribution maps) and any commercial restriction according to the CITES regulation; appearance of the log or wood, including pictures of wood and wood utilisations; leading physical and mechanical properties; natural durability against fungi / dry wood borers / termites, and preservation; drying behaviour, including a drying schedule given for information; processing behaviour (sawing, machining, assembling); appearance grading and visual grading for structural applications; actual and potential uses and reaction to fire. Some of this information is displayed in graphical format. TROPIX 7 allows multicriteria search using preselected search terms or similarity to a different species. It also allows graphical species comparisons based on one or two physical or mechanical properties. Multicriteria searches results, graphics and technical sheets can be printed or exported as files. (Résumé d'auteur

Segmentation des marchés internationaux et globalisation en macroéconomie ouverte

Despite a strong drop in tariff barriers in the second half of the twentieth century, numerous empirical studies have shown that international trade flows are affected by sizeable trade costs.These trade barriers create an international market segmentation, affecting the open macroeconomic equilibrium. Yet, almost all macro models ignore this reality, assuming a perfect integration of international markets.In this thesis, I study the implication of market segmentation in several aspects of the open macroeconomic equilibrium. To this aim, I use tools of The New Trade Theory. This literature underlines the role of trade costs in explaining international trade and foreign investment flows, when taking into account firms' strategic behaviour in a global framework.The first part of the thesis focuses on the consequences of market segmentation on exporting firms' pricing behaviour. The empirical analysis based on disaggregated data underlines the micro determinants explaining the low aggregate sensitivity of trade prices to exchange rate movements.The second part introduces firms' location strategy in the analysis and investigates its impact on the relative price level. It explains how the entry of new firms in a national market exerts a downward pressure on its aggregate price level. Last, the third part of the thesis examines theconsequences of endogenous location decisions on the efficiency of economic policies. In particular, it shows how national minimum wage policies affect the spatial distribution of firms, through the channels of relative production costs and aggregate demand.De nombreuses études mettent en évidence l'existence de coûts substantiels affectant les flux de commerce international. En créant une segmentation des marchés internationaux, ces barrières à l'échange affectent l'équilibre global en macroéconomie ouverte. Pourtant, la plupart des modèles macroéconomiques ignorent cette caractéristique de l'économie internationale et supposent une intégration parfaite des marchés.Cette thèse étudie l'impact macroéconomique de cette segmentation des marchés internationaux. Les outils développés par les Nouvelles Théories du Commerce sont utilisés pour modéliser l'effet des barrières à l'échange sur les décisions stratégiques des firmes exportatrices dans un environnement globalisé.La première partie de la thèse s'intéresse aux conséquences de la segmentation des marchés sur les stratégies de prix à l'exportation. L'analyse empirique permet de mettre en évidence les déterminants microéconomiques expliquant la faible sensibilité des prix du commerce aux fluctuations de change. La deuxième partie introduit dans l'analyse les choix de localisation des firmes et étudie leur impact sur le niveau des prix relatifs. Elle montre comment l'entrée denouveaux producteurs sur un marché national exerce une pression à la baisse sur le niveau de ses prix agrégés. Enfin, la troisième partie de la thèse s'interroge sur l'impact de ces choix de localisation sur l'efficacité des politiques économiques. Plus précisément, elle montre comment les politiques nationales de salaire minimum affectent la répartition spatiale des entreprises, par le biais des coûts relatifs de production mais aussi de leur impact sur la demande agrégée

Exchange Rate Movements and Export Prices an Empirical Analysis

This paper studies the effect of changes in the exchange rates oninternational trade prices by estimating exchange rate pass-throughelasticities for the 500 largest exporting industries of six OECD countries.In around half of the industries, export prices appear sensitive toexchange rate movements, casting doubt on the assumption of a fullpass-through of exchange rate movements into import prices at theroot of the Purchasing Power Parity relation. The high heterogeneityof the results both between sectors and between national exporterssuggests a pre-eminent role for structural factors, rather than macroeconomicones in the explanation of the phenomenon.

Variety Supply versus Balassa-Samuelson Determinants of the Real Exchange Rate

This paper develops a model of long-run real exchange rates basedon a New Economic Geography framework that compares two determinantsof relative price levels. The first one is a standard Balassa-Samuelson mechanism, that explains relative prices in the non-tradedgood sector by productivity differentials. The second determinant,the “Variety Supply effect”, explains PPP deviations in the tradedgood sector by the endogenous distribution of firms across countries.Calibrating the model with OECD data, one shows that the relativemagnitude of the Variety Supply effect is generally small and that botheffects can either play in opposite direction, or strengthen each other.This ambiguity is explained in a general equilibrium framework bythe sensitiveness of location decisions to the structure of preferences.When the share of traded good is large enough, the entry of firms leadsto a real depreciation because local consumers benefit from a trade costsaving. However, if the share of non-traded goods in consumption ishigh, this effect is more than compensated by a wage adjustment andthe real exchange rate appreciates.