The United States of Europe

A Gravity Model Evaluation of the Four Freedoms

Bibliographic Data

ID14855656
AuthorsKeith Head (Keith Head is HSBC Professor in Asian Commerce, Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. He was María de Maeztu Visiting Professor at CEMFI (Center for Monetary and Financial Studies), Madrid, Spain, during the 2019–2020 academic year. He is also a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research in London, United Kingdom.), Thierry Mayer (0000-0003-2098-3887, Thierry Mayer is Professor of Economics, Sciences Po, Paris, France. He is also a Scientific Adviser, Centre d’Études Prospectives et d’Informations Internationales (CEPII), Paris, France, and a Research Fellow, Centre for Economic Policy Research, London, United Kingdom. .)
Year2021
Volume35
Issue2
Pages23-48
Publication date2021-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Economic Perspectives (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0895-3309 • E-ISSN: 1944-7965
PublisherAmerican Economic Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1257/jep.35.2.23
OpenAlexW3157825619
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited8

One of the pillars of the 1957 Treaty of Rome that ultimately led to the European Union is the commitment to the four freedoms of movement (goods, services, persons, and capital). Over the following decades, as the members expanded in numbers, they also sought to deepen the integration amongst themselves in all four dimensions. This paper estimates the success of these policies based primarily on a gravity framework. Distinct from past evaluations, we augment the traditional equation for international flows with the corresponding intra-national flows, permitting us to distinguish welfare-improving reductions in frictions from Fortress-Europe effects. We complement the gravity approach by measuring the extent of price convergence. We compare both quantity and price assessments of free movement with corresponding estimates for the 50 American states

Economics · European union · Freedom of movement · Geography · Gravity model of trade · International economics · International trade · Macroeconomics · Political science · Treaty · Economic Policies and Impacts · Global trade and economics · Law · Politics, Economics, and Education Policy

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