The Political Economy of Preferential Trade Agreements: An Empirical Investigation
研究了代议制民主国家加入优惠贸易协定的决策，区分了自由贸易区和关税同盟，发现双边贸易失衡和收入不平等是重要决定因素，而地理专业化模式则解释了选择哪种协定形式。
Abstract We develop a political economy model to study the decision of representative democracies to join a preferential trading agreement, distinguishing between free trade areas and customs unions. Our theoretical analysis shows that bilateral trade imbalances and income inequality are important factors determining the formation of preferential trading agreements, whereas the patterns of geographic specialisation explain whether a customs union or a free trade area will emerge. Our empirical analysis—using a comprehensive panel dataset spanning 187 countries over the period 1960–2015—provides strong support for these predictions.