A passage to India: Quantifying internal and external barriers to trade

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of International Economics
Year: 2021
Volume: 131
Issue: C

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper quantifies the size of internal versus external trade barriers and assesses the trade and welfare impact. I develop a quantitative two-sector international trade model featuring nonhomothetic preferences in which Indian states trade both domestically and internationally. I discipline the model using rich data on price dispersion together with state-based foreign and domestic trade flows. I find that (1) internal trade barriers make up 40% of total trade barriers on average, but vary substantially by state depending on the distance to the closest port; and (2) reducing trade barriers across Indian states to the United States level increases welfare more (13%) than removing international import barriers (7%).

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:inecon:v:131:y:2021:i:c:s0022199621000507
Journal Field
International
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-29