An invitation to participate in a two-day course “Trade policy analysis with the structural gravity model”


The “D. A. TSENOV” ACADEMY OF ECONOMICS
Invite You to Participate in a two-day course

“Trade policy analysis with the structural gravity model”

Course Description. The goal of the course is to serve as a practical guide for trade policy analysis with the structural gravity model, i.e., the workhorse model in international trade. The course traces the evolution of the gravity model from its initial a-theoretical applications to the most recent structural developments, e.g., dynamic gravity, and it offers a comprehensive and balanced approach between theory and empirics. Rigorous theoretical exposition is combined with a series of applications and empirical exercises, including estimation of the partial and the GE effects of FTAs and MFN tariffs within the same theory-consistent framework. Importantly, owing to recent research developments, all experiments and exercises in this course (including the GE simulations), are performed with standard built-in commands directly in Stata.

About the Instructor. Yoto V. Yotov is a Full Professor of Economics at Drexel University. Yotov’s research interests are in the field of international trade and his articles appear in The American Economic Review, The International Economic Review, The Journal of International Economics, and The European Economic Review among others. Yotov has been a consultant for the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Canadian government, and the Industry Canada unit of the Canadian government. Yotov has previously taught versions of this course at the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, US ITC, CESifo, Global Affairs Canada, Drexel University, Princeton University, the National University of Singapore, and the University of Ottawa.

For additional information, please visit: http://yotoyotov.com/

Audiences and Prerequisites. The course may be beneficial to (i) Applied Economists and Policy Makers; (ii) Advanced Master Students; (iii) Ph.D. Students; and (iv) Academic Researchers. The prerequisites for this course include Master-level Microeconomic Analysis and Master-level Econometric Analysis. Previous experience with Stata, including data manipulation and use of canned estimation commands (no coding!) is also required. Participants may bring their own computers with Stata, version 12 or higher. The course will be taught exclusively in English.

Organization, Fees, and Logistics. The course will take place on October 17 and 18 at the “D.A. Tsenov” Academy of Economics, Svishtov. There will be two three-hour lectures, followed by practical sessions in the afternoon of 18th October. The course fee is 95 Euro, which will cover course materials, coffee breaks and lunch each day. The organizers will make hotel recommendations at preferential rates, however, participants will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation arrangements.

Registration Deadline. The deadline for registration is September 30. Space is limited. Confirmation e-mails for registration with the detailed course program will be sent to all participants on October 1st. Please do not make travel arrangements before you have received your registration confirmation.

To apply for the course please email g.stefanov@uni-svishtov.bg

Contact and inquiries If you need a visa or if you have any inquiries, please e-mail Galin Stefanov g.stefanov@uni-svishtov.bg

Course Readings

Required Readings. The course is developed around the following book and the accompanying two working papers, which are extended versions of the book's two main chapters. The book, along with data and Stata codes can be downloaded for free at https://vi.unctad.org/tpa/web/vol2/vol2home.html 

[1] "An Advanced Guide to Trade Policy Analysis: The Structural Gravity Model"
Yotov, Y. V., R. Piermartini, J. A. Monteiro, and M. Larch. Co-published by UNCTAD and WTO, 2016.
[2] "Estimating Trade Policy Effects with Structural Gravity", Piermartini, R. and Y. V. Yotov, 2016.
[3] "General Equilibrium Trade Policy Analysis with Structural Gravity", Larch, M. and Y. V. Yotov, 2016.

Highly Recommended Readings. The required readings cover a large number of important related studies and I refer the interested reader to the bibliography sections of the above papers. The following are some influential academic papers that are most closely related to the course material.

[1] "Gravity with Gravitas: A Solution to the Border Puzzle" Anderson, J. E., and E. van Wincoop. 2003. American Economic Review, 93(1): 170–192.
[2]"Technology, Geography, and Trade" Eaton, J. and S. Kortum, 2002. Econometrica, vol. 70(5), pages 1741-1779.
[3] “Estimates of the Trade and Welfare Effects of NAFTA” Caliendo L., and F. Parro
The Review of Economic Studies, Volume 82, Issue 1, 1 January 2015, Pages 1–44.
[4] "The Changing Incidence of Geography" Anderson, J. E. and Y. V. Yotov, 2010. American Economic Review, vol. 100(5), pages 2157-86.
[5] “Distorted Gravity: The Intensive and Extensive Margins of International Trade”
Thomas Chaney. American Economic Review, 98(4), pp. 1707-21.
[6] "The Log of Gravity" Santos Silva, J.M.C. and S. Tenreyro, 2006. Review of Economics and Statistics, 88(4): 641–658.
[7] "Estimating General Equilibrium Trade Policy Effects: GE PPML" Anderson, J. E., M. Larch, and Y. V. Yotov, 2015. CESifo Working Paper Series 5446.

Highly Recommended Survey Readings. The following are excellent surveys that complement the main reading materials for the course.

[1] "The Gravity Model" Anderson, J.E. 2011. Annual Review of Economics, 3:133-60.
[2] "Gravity for Dummies and Dummies for Gravity Equations" Baldwin, R. and D. Taglioni, 2006. NBER Working Papers 12516.
[3] "Trade Theory with Numbers: Quantifying the Consequences of Globalization"
Costinot, A., and A. Rodríguez-Clare, 2014. in the Handbook of International Economics Vol. 4, eds. G. Gopinath, E. Helpman, and K. Rogoff.
[4] "Gravity Equations: Workhorse, Toolkit, and Cookbook" Head, K. and T. Mayer, 2014. in the Handbook of International Economics Vol. 4, eds. G. Gopinath, E. Helpman, and K. Rogoff.
[5] "Practical Guide to Trade Policy Analysis" World Trade Organization and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2012.

Further details on course can be found at: http://yotoyotov.com/gravity.html

We look forward to seeing you in beautiful Svishtov in October!