Trade Uncertainty and Investment in the Euro Area /

We analyze the impact of trade policy uncertainty on investment in the euro area. Our identification strategy assumes that countries that are relatively more dependent on global trade networks exhibit a higher sensitivity of investment with respect to trade uncertainty. We find that the investment-t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ebeke, Christian
Other Authors: Siminitz, Jesse
Format: Journal
Language:English
Published: Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2018.
Series:IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2018/281
Subjects:
Online Access:Full text available on IMF
Description
Summary:We analyze the impact of trade policy uncertainty on investment in the euro area. Our identification strategy assumes that countries that are relatively more dependent on global trade networks exhibit a higher sensitivity of investment with respect to trade uncertainty. We find that the investment-to-GDP ratio is on average 0.8 percentage points lower for five quarters following a one standard deviation increase in the level of trade uncertainty. We demonstrate that these results are unlikely to be driven by omitted variables and that they are robust to different measures of trade uncertainty and trade openness. Our analysis suggests that the detrimental effect of trade tensions goes beyond lower trade growth, as uncertainty can reduce investment and the economy's long-term growth potential.
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Physical Description:1 online resource (19 pages)
Format:Mode of access: Internet
ISSN:1018-5941
Access:Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students