Saturday, September 06, 2003
Rise and Fall of World Trade -- 1870-1939
While at the MIT press, I came across an excellent paper that traces the history of the initial era of globalization that was brought to an end by the two wars. This initial period of glablization, especially at the turn of the 20th century tends to be glossed over in a lot of the accounts of globalization one reads today, especially from those that protest it.
Measured by the ratio of trade to output, the period 1870-1913 marked the birth of the first era of trade globalization and the period 1914-1939 its death. What caused the boom and bust? We use an augmented gravity model to examine the gold standard, tariffs, and transport costs as determinants of trade. Until 1913 the rise of the gold standard and the fall in transport costs were the main trade-creating forces. As of 1929 the reversal was driven by higher transport costs. In the 1930s the final collapse of the gold standard drove trade volumes even lower.
Measured by the ratio of trade to output, the period 1870-1913 marked the birth of the first era of trade globalization and the period 1914-1939 its death. What caused the boom and bust? We use an augmented gravity model to examine the gold standard, tariffs, and transport costs as determinants of trade. Until 1913 the rise of the gold standard and the fall in transport costs were the main trade-creating forces. As of 1929 the reversal was driven by higher transport costs. In the 1930s the final collapse of the gold standard drove trade volumes even lower.
