No double standards: Quantifying the impact of standard harmonization on trade

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Schmidt, Julia; Steingress, Walter
• 署名单位: European Central Bank; Bank of France; Bank of Canada
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1996
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2022.103619
• 发表日期: 2022
• 关键词: International trade; standardization; HARMONIZATION

摘要

This paper quantifies a novel channel that contributes to greater trade integration: the release of harmonized, voluntary product standards. Standards define product characteristics that ensure compatibility, quality and consistency. Harmonized standards unify these characteristics across countries and reduce country-specific adaption costs. We create a novel database on cross-country standards and show that harmonized standards have contributed up to 13% of the growth in global trade. We build a heterogeneous firm model where harmonized standards generate scale effects and induce firms to adopt the standard. Firm-level evidence shows that only the largest firms in the top range of the size-distribution increase their export sales. These firms benefit from higher demand, charge higher prices and sell larger volumes.(c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.