TY  - JOUR
AU  - Keller,Wolfgang
AU  - Shiue,Carol H.
TI  - The Origins of Spatial Interaction
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 10069
PY  - 2003
Y2  - November 2003
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w10069
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w10069.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Wolfgang Keller
Department of Economics
University of Colorado-Boulder
Boulder, CO 80309-0256
Tel: 303/735 5507
Fax: 303/492 8960
E-Mail: Wolfgang.Keller@colorado.edu

Carol H. Shiue
Department of Economics
University of Colorado-Boulder
Boulder, CO 80309-0256
E-Mail: carol.shiue@colorado.edu
AB  - Geography shapes economic outcomes in a major way. This paper uses spatial empirical methods to detect and analyze trade patterns in a historical data set on Chinese rice prices. Our results suggest that spatial features were important for the expansion of interregional trade. Geography dictates, first, over what distances trade was possible in different regions, because the costs of ship transport were considerably below those for land transport. Spatial features also influence the direction in which a trading network is expanding. Moreover, our analysis captures the impact of new trade routes both within and outside the trading areas. We also discuss the long-run implications this might have.
ER  -