Technology and Geography in the Second Industrial Revolution: New Evidence from the Margins of Trade
利用比利时在美好时代的详细贸易数据，发现贸易产品种类和出口目的地数量在不到40年内翻了一番以上，并分析了外交网络降低进入成本对贸易扩张的作用。
Belle Époque Belgium recorded an unprecedented trade boom. Exploiting a new granular trade dataset, we find that the number of products delivered abroad and destinations serviced more than doubled in less than 40 years. To explain this remarkable achievement, we study the relationship between trade costs and the intensive and extensive margins of trade. The establishment of a foreign diplomatic network that lowered beachhead costs and enabled the entry of new products was an essential fact of the trade boom. Interestingly, the expansion in trade in certain sectors did not translate into faster productivity growth. We offer some explanations.