Research

The Effects of Standards on Value Chains and Trade in Europe (September 2015)

The authors examine the impact of technical standards on trade in global value chains (GVCs), and find that while national standards hamper trade in European value chains, European and international standards foster trade. European standards have greater influence on trade in value-added whereas international standards have strong effects on gross trade flows. European standards therefore connect market actors in European value chains. Because gross trade figures contain value from outside of Europe, international standards facilitate trade with market actors from non-European countries. In addition, the authors find a positive trade effect of the interaction term between national and European standards. These standards generate gains from trade when their specifications are combined in the production process.

The paper is available from the ResearchGate website. 

Authors:

Florian Ramela, Axel Mangelsdorf, Knut Blind