GTAP Events: Center Seminar Series
"Evaluating the Trade Restrictiveness of Phytosanitary Measures on US Fresh Fruits and Vegetable Imports"by Everett Peterson
Empirical assessments of Sanitary and Phytosanitary regulations have proved difficult because most data sources indicate whether a regulation exists but provide no information on the type or importance of the measure. In this article, we construct a novel database of United States phytosanitary measures and match these to 47 fresh fruit and vegetable product imports from 89 exporting countries over the period 1996-2008. A product-line gravity equation that accounts for zero trade flows is developed to investigate the trade impact of different pest mitigation measures. While the results suggest that phytosanitary treatments generally reduce trade, the actual restrictiveness of these measures diminishes dramatically as exporters accumulate experience and actually vanishes when exporters reach a certain threshold level. The results have important policy implications considering the proliferation of empirical studies assessing the impact of non-tariff measures.
Date/Time: 10/22/2012 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Location: KRAN 661
Last Modified: 4/10/2018 2:05:52 PM
