The European single market and intra-EU trade: An assessment with heterogeneity-robust difference-in-differences methods

Arne J. Nagengast, Fernando Rios-Avila and Yoto Yotov

No 26/2025, Discussion Papers from Deutsche Bundesbank

Abstract: We use heterogeneity-robust difference-in-differences (DiD) methods to evaluate the impact of membership in the European Union (EU) Single Market on international trade. On the policy front, we provide evidence that: (i) On average, the EU has been very effective in promoting trade among its member states; (ii) The trade effects of the EU have been long-lasting, but heterogeneous across EU cohorts; and (iii) While the EU has benefited both 'old' and 'new' members, the increase in the exports from the 'old' members to the 'new' joiners has been disproportionately larger. From a methods and practical perspective, the contribution of this paper is to introduce a new, fast, and flexible estimation command that combines leading estimation techniques from the gravity literature with recent methods from the heterogeneity-robust DiD literature.

Keywords: EU membership; Staggered Difference-in-Differences; Gravity Model; Estimation Command (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C13 C23 F10 F13 F14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eec
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:bubdps:328249

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