Springer The Trade Impact of European Union Preferential Policies: An Analysis Through Gravity Models

This thorough inquiry into the EU’s preferential trade policies finds that the delivery of the schemes’ aims has varied. The book takes an eclectic but rigorous approach to analyzing the econometrics by combining different specifications of the gravity model. Review From the reviews: “This book concentrates on the first of these objectives by looking at the trade effects of the European Union’s GSP as well as other regimes of EU trade preferences for LDCs. … the volume might deserve a place in reading lists for courses in applied trade policy, particularly since Springer offers data and STATA code used in the applications as extra online material.” (Wilhelm Kohler, Journal of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 232 (6), November, 2012)“This book brings together work from numerous authors covering European Union (EU) trade policies towards developing countries and the empirical study of their effect on trade flows. … The path chosen can speak to several kinds of readers, interested in the policies themselves and empirical results of their effects, or looking for guidance in econometric gravity model applications. … a welcome addition for some readers who wish to investigate the data further, and can be a good primer for future research.” (Martin Clever, European Review of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 39 (3), July, 2012) From the Back Cover The book investigates the EU preferential trade policy and, in particular, the impact it had on trade flows from developing countries. It shows that the capability of the "trade as aid" model to deliver its expected benefits to these countries crucially differs between preferential schemes and sectors. The book takes an eclectic but rigorous  approach to the econometric analysis by combining different specifications of the gravity model. An in-depth presentation of the gravity model is also included, providing significant insights into the distinctive features of this technique and its state-of-art implementation. The evidence produced in the book is extensively applied to the analysis of the EU preferential policies with substantial suggestions for future improvement. Additional electronic material can be found online. About the Author Luca  De Benedictis received his diplôme d' études supérieures (Degree of Advanced Studies) from the Graduate Institute of International Studies at Geneva and his Ph.D. from the Politechnic University of Marche and is presently Professor  of  international economics at  the  University of Macerata, Italy.  He is the author of several publications on  the empirical analysis of  international trade flows. Luca  Salvatici  received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Davis and is presently Professor  of  economic  policy  at  the  University of  Roma Tre,  Italy. He previously held positions at La Sapienza University of Roma and University of Molise, and was a consultant  for  the  World Bank  and  the  Food and Agriculture Organization. He is the author of several publications on  the measurement  of  protection  and  on  the  EU policies.