TY - JOUR

T1 - Intra-good trade in Germany

T2 - a first look at the evidence

AU - Wagner, Joachim

PY - 2017/12/8

Y1 - 2017/12/8

N2 - This article contributes to the literature by using newly released comprehensive transaction-level data on all exports and imports to document facts about the amount of intra-good trade – the simultaneous export and import of identical goods by one firm – in Germany. Combined data for trade transactions and for characteristics of a representative large sample of trading firms are then used to report differences between firms that export and import different goods only (inter-good traders) and firms that engage in the simultaneous export and import of identical goods (intra-good traders). We find that the share of intra-good trade in total trade was some 17% in Germany in 2012. Intra-good trade matters. This share differs widely between broadly defined groups of goods and between industries. Controlling for detailed industry affiliation, intra-good traders differ significantly from inter-good traders – they are larger, more human capital intensive, more productive, have a higher R&D intensity and are more profitable. The data, however, are not rich enough to reveal the direction of causality between intra-good trade and firm performance and to investigate empirically the reasons why some firms engage in intra-good trade.

AB - This article contributes to the literature by using newly released comprehensive transaction-level data on all exports and imports to document facts about the amount of intra-good trade – the simultaneous export and import of identical goods by one firm – in Germany. Combined data for trade transactions and for characteristics of a representative large sample of trading firms are then used to report differences between firms that export and import different goods only (inter-good traders) and firms that engage in the simultaneous export and import of identical goods (intra-good traders). We find that the share of intra-good trade in total trade was some 17% in Germany in 2012. Intra-good trade matters. This share differs widely between broadly defined groups of goods and between industries. Controlling for detailed industry affiliation, intra-good traders differ significantly from inter-good traders – they are larger, more human capital intensive, more productive, have a higher R&D intensity and are more profitable. The data, however, are not rich enough to reveal the direction of causality between intra-good trade and firm performance and to investigate empirically the reasons why some firms engage in intra-good trade.

KW - exports

KW - Germany

KW - imports

KW - Intra-product trade

KW - two-way trade

KW - Economics

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85021134796&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/00036846.2017.1340576

DO - 10.1080/00036846.2017.1340576

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85021134796

VL - 49

SP - 5753

EP - 5761

JO - Applied Economics

JF - Applied Economics

SN - 0003-6846

IS - 57

ER -