Project Details
Projekt
Data and Research Infrastructure Project – Novel Data Sources and Measurement of Trade Barriers for Empirical Research -- Part of the Research Unit International Division of Labour (IDoL): New Challenges for Workers, Firms, and Policy Makers
Applicant
Professorin Dr. Lisandra Flach
Subject Area
Economic Policy, Applied Economics
Economic Theory
Economic Theory
Term
since 2026
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 550491480
The decision of firms to trade internationally depends on trade costs, which include tariff and non-tariff barriers that restrict the circulation of goods and services across borders. Although data on trade barriers is crucial for informing empirical analysis and quantifying the welfare gains from trade, there are still significant gaps in the measurement of trade barriers. First, for tariffs, the literature shows significant gaps in the measurement in standard data sources. Second, for non-tariff barriers, measurement remains challenging and most of the existing papers rely on highly aggregated measures for a selection of countries. Consequently, exhaustive data on which tariffs and non-tariff barriers a firm must overcome when exporting goods or services, or which restrictions an importer faces at the border, are not easily available to researchers and remain a constraint for empirical analysis. The infrastructure project will contribute to the literature by collecting new data on tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers for goods and services. The new databases will then support and connect the activities of the research unit’s empirical research and will be publicly available to other researchers. Moreover, within the research unit, the project aims to increase synergies between theoretical and empirical work, support data collection efforts, ensure collaborative use of databases, and provide a common framework for data management.
DFG Programme
Research Units
