Multiproduct firms, income distribution, and trade

We develop a general equilibrium model of multiproduct fi…rms with quality differentiated goods. Households are characterized by an heterogeneous taste for the differentiated good and their income level. The use of non-homothetic preferences and vertical product differentiation (product quality) enables us to analyze how distributional changes in income affect the number of vertically differentiated …firms, their product range and prices in the presence of strategic interaction across …rms. The implications of lowering the barriers to trade within this setting are considered as well

Trade liberalization and its fiscal implications in a north-south trade model

We study the fiscal implications of trade liberalization in a North-South trade model with nonhomothetic preferences. Combining a Ricardian trade model with a continuum of competitive goods and a public good, nonhomothetic preferences imply that both the global income distribution and the local income distribution matter for gauging the effects of different trade liberalization regimes on income taxes and public good provision. The fiscal implications of tariff reductions are typically more adverse for poorer countries than for richer countries. We also find that unilateral trade liberalization by richer countries is a more viable policy option to pursue than multilaterally reducing tariffs

Hub and spoke bilateralism and the global income distribution

We study the effects of hub and spoke liberalization in a model where income matters for consumption patterns. We use a three-country Ricardian trade model in which goods are ranked according to priority and where economies differ in their income level. The poorest (richest) country has a comparative advantage in the production of lowest-ranked (highest-ranked) goods, specializing in goods with low (high) income elasticities in demand. The medium rich country specializes in the production of the intermediate-ranked commodities. We find that a country’s income level is of decisive importance for assessing the impact of hub and spoke arrangements on welfare. Hubs do not necessarily gain and spokes do not necessarily lose

Does preferential trade benefit poor countries? A general equilibrium assessment with nonhomothetic preferences

We study the effects of preferential trade agreements (PTA) in a model where income matters for consumption patterns. We develop a three-country Ricardian trade model in which goods are ranked according to priority and where economies differ in their income level. The poorest (richest) country has a comparative advantage in the production of lowest-ranked (highest-ranked) goods, specializing in goods with low (high) income elasticities in demand. The medium rich country specializes in the production of the intermediate-ranked commodities. We find that being a nonmember of PTA leads to a terms of trade deterioration for a poor country, and a terms of trade improvement for the high-income country. Becoming a member of a PTA also does not guarantee welfare gains for the low income country, unless it is so poor that it cannot import the higher-ranked goods that the rich country produces

Trade policy in a Ricardian model with a continuum of goods under nonhomothetic preferences

Contains fulltext : 66999.pdf (author's version ) (Open Access)Annual Meeting of the European Economic Association, 20 augustus 200

Services FDI and the Dutch economy

Contains fulltext : 131666.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access

A Discoverie of Witches

Lancaster Assizes, 1612. Ten people from Pendle in Lancashire were hanged, pronounced guilty of the crime of witchcraft. The poems in this collection give voice to characters involved in the trials: from the accused to the accusers, from a child who bore witness against her own mother to the hangman who carried out his job loyally and efficiently, yet not without stirrings of compassion. Also included are several poems set in the Pennine countryside where Blake grew up, as well as the controversial tour-de-force ‘The Ballad of the Yorkshire Ripper’