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Variety gains from trade in Switzerland

Mohler, Lukas. (2011) Variety gains from trade in Switzerland. Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Volkswirtschaft und Statistik, Vol. 147. pp. 45-70.

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Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A5848467

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Abstract

Since the seminal work of Krugman (1979), variety gains from trade are recognized as an important channel of welfare gains. In this paper, the gains from variety are estimated for Switzerland. It is found that despite the openness of the Swiss economy these gains are not substantial and smaller than in other countries; specically compared to the gains in the United States. It is shown that the reasons for this result are twofold: First, the Swiss imports are shown not to be as differentiated as their U.S. counterparts; consequently new varieties do not provide the same value to consumers. Second, variety growth of imports in Switzerland is much smaller compared to variety growth in larger countries. It is furthermore shown that this latter effect is quantitatively more important than the first.
UniBasel Contributors:Mohler, Lukas
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:Helbing und Lichtenhahn
ISSN:0303-9692
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Last Modified:14 Sep 2012 07:21
Deposited On:14 Sep 2012 07:10

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