TY  - JOUR
AU  - Casella,Alessandra
TI  - Product Standards Coalitions in a Market Without Borders
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 5853
PY  - 1996
Y2  - December 1996
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w5853
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w5853.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Alessandra Casella
Department of Economics
Columbia University
420 West 118 Street
New York, NY 10027
Tel: 212/854-2459
Fax: 212/854-8059
E-Mail: ac186@columbia.edu
AB  - Traditional analyses of standards in international trade identify standards as government regulations and investigate the potential for distortion of trade flows.  In reality, however, private industry groups exercise critical influence on the determination of technical standards.  The composition of these groups is affected by technology and market conditions, and in an integrated market the alliances of private firms are likely to cross national boundaries, generating harmonization bottom. across economic activities and across countries, economic integration should bring increased harmonization across countries and finer differentiation across products.  Empirical evidence from the United States and the European Union, although mostly anecdotical, supports this prediction.
ER  -