World Scientific Publishing Company Understanding Globalization Through The Lens Of Gravity

Since 1962, economists have used the "gravity equation" in international trade to explain empirically bilateral international trade flows, and have since more recently adopted the gravity model to explain foreign direct investment stocks. Motivated by its empirical success, Jeffrey H. Bergstrand provided one of the earliest formal theoretical foundations for the gravity equation in international trade in 1985. Since then, the gravity equation has become a fundamental element of international trade theory, empirical work, and policy analysis, especially of the effects of economic integration agreements and tariffs on trade flows and welfare. Understanding Globalization Through the Lens of Gravity is a curated collection of Bergstrand's published papers over the 30 years since his first paper on the theme of gravity. In four parts, the 17 papers span topics such as the determinants of international trade flows, economic determinants of free trade agreements, estimating the effects of economic integration agreements on trade flows, and economic determinants of multinational firms' foreign direct investment stocks, foreign affiliate sales and governments' bilateral investment treaties. About the Author Jeffrey H Bergstrand is Professor of Finance in the Mendoza College of Business, Concurrent Professor of Economics in the College of Arts and Letters, Concurrent Professor in the Keough School of Global Affairs, and Faculty Fellow in the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame. He is also a member of CESifo. He earned his BA in Economics and Political Science from Northwestern University in 1974 and his PhD in Economics from the University of Madison in 1981. After five years in the research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, he joined the University of Notre Dame in 1986. He has consulted with the US, European Union, and Swiss governments on the impacts of economic integration agreements on international trade and foreign direct investment flows and his methodologies continue to influence governments' policy analyses.