TY  - JOUR
AU  - Jacks,David S.
TI  - On the Death of Distance and Borders: Evidence from the Nineteenth Century
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 15250
PY  - 2009
Y2  - August 2009
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15250
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15250.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
David S. Jacks
Department of Economics
Simon Fraser University
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6
CANADA
Tel: 778/782-5392
Fax: 778/782-5944
E-Mail: dsjacks@gmail.com
AB  - In this paper, we investigate time-dependent border and distance effects in the nineteenth century and document clear declines in the importance of these variables through time. What this suggests, in light of the work for the post-1950 era, is that researchers might have correctly identified the increasing effect of distance on bilateral trade over time.  In other words, trade costs may have not declined nearly as dramatically in the late twentieth century as has been supposed, especially in light of the nineteenth century, a time of documented trade cost decline and commodity market integration.
ER  -