Time as a Trade Barrier

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hummels, David L.; Schaur, Georg
• 署名单位: Purdue University System; Purdue University; National Bureau of Economic Research; University of Tennessee System; University of Tennessee Knoxville
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0002-8282
• DOI: 10.1257/aer.103.7.2935
• 发表日期: 2013
• 页码: 2935-2959
• 关键词: quality; MARKET

摘要

A large and growing share of world trade travels by air. We model exporters' choice between fast, expensive air cargo and slow, cheap ocean cargo, which depends on the price elasticity of demand and the value that consumers attach to fast delivery. We use US imports data that provide rich variation in the premium paid for air shipping and in time lags for ocean transit to extract consumers' valuation of time. We estimate that each day in transit is equivalent to an advalorem tariff of 0.6 to 2.1 percent. The most time-sensitive trade flows involve parts and components trade.