Are Free Trade Agreements contagious?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Baldwin, Richard; Jaimovich, Dany
• 署名单位: Goethe University Frankfurt
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1996
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2012.03.009
• 发表日期: 2012
• 页码: 1-16
• 关键词: Contagion index; Free trade agreements; international trade; Regionalism; Domino theory of regionalism

摘要

This paper tests the hypothesis that the domino-like spread of regionalism is partly driven by 'defensive' FTAs, i.e. FTAs signed to reduce discrimination created by third-nation FTAs. A theory-based measure is used to test contagion against alternative determinants of regionalism. The main finding is that contagion is present in our data and robust to various econometric specifications, samples, and inclusions of various economic and political controls including the Baier-Bergstrand controls. Some support is found for political theories that stress 'political distance' but none for those that stress 'slow multilateralism'. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.