The long-run decline in the share of agricultural and food products in international trade: a gravity equation approach to its causes

Raul Serrano (1) , Vicente Pinilla (2)

1 Applied Economics and Economic History
2 Applied Economics and Economic History

The objective of this study is to determine the causes of the loss of share of agricultural products and food in international trade. The article compares, using a gravity model, the impact of various factors upon bilateral trade in agricultural products, in manufactures and in total trade, between 1963 and 2000 for a representative sample of 40 countries. The results clearly demonstrate how the low demand elasticity for agricultural products and food, the high degree of protectionism to which they were subjected and their meagre share in intra-industrial trade are the principal causes of their relatively slow growth.

Mots clés: Social Sciences & Humanities

Domaines: Économie et finance quantitative [q-fin]

Raul Serrano, Vicente Pinilla. The long-run decline in the share of agricultural and food products in international trade: a gravity equation approach to its causes. Applied Economics, 2011, pp.1. ⟨10.1080/00036846.2011.587786⟩. ⟨hal-00716633⟩