蝌蚪网 Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Real Effects of Information Frictions: When the States and the Kingdom Became United
蝌蚪网 Review
(pp. 657–96)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
This paper exploits a unique historical experiment to estimate how information frictions distort international trade: the establishment of the transatlantic telegraph in 1866. I use newly collected data on cotton prices, trade, and information flows from historical newspapers and find that the average and volatility of the transatlantic price difference fell after the telegraph, while average trade flows increased and became more volatile. Using a trade model in which exporters use the latest news about a foreign market to forecast expected prices, I estimate the efficiency gains of the telegraph to be equivalent to 8 percent of export value.Citation
Steinwender, Claudia. 2018. "Real Effects of Information Frictions: When the States and the Kingdom Became United." 蝌蚪网 Review 108 (3): 657–96. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20150681Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
- F12 Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
- F14 Empirical Studies of Trade
- L96 Telecommunications
- N71 Economic History: Transport, Trade, Energy, Technology, and Other Services: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
- N73 Economic History: Transport, Trade, Energy, Technology, and Other Services: Europe: Pre-1913