Title: Trade From Space: Shipping Networks and The Global Implications of Local Shocks

Speaker: Yuan Zi, Assistant Professor of the Department of Economics at the University of Oslo

Time: 15:00 – 16:30 (Beijing Time, GMT+8), 8 April, 2021.  

Mode: Online         

Zoom ID: 931 678 9264 

Password: 790971

About the speaker:

Yuan Zi is the Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Oslo. She is also a senior researcher at University of Zurich and a research affiliate at the Centre for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). She obtained her Ph.D. in International Economics, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID). Her research interests include international trade, economic geography and economic development, with a special focus on global value chains, trade and labor market interactions and firms in international trade. 

Abstract:

This paper examines the structure of the shipping network and its implications on global trade and welfare. Using novel data on the movements of container ships, we calculate optimal travel routes. We then estimate the impact of a shock to the network on global trade by analyzing the effect of the 2016 Panama Canal Expansion. Trade between country pairs using the canal increased by 10% after the expansion. While the building costs were borne by Panama alone, a model-based quantification analysis shows that the welfare gains were shared by many countries, due to the network structure of shipping.