Vanishing Borders
Ethnicity and Trade Costs at the Origin of the Yugoslav Market
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24235359 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David Chilosi (0000-0002-2251-0381, King's College London), Stefan Nikolić (0000-0001-8744-922X, Loughborough University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-39 |
| Publication date | 2026-10-21 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Economic History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-0507 • E-ISSN: 1471-6372 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0022050726101466 |
| OpenAlex | W7223149063 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 64 |
This article uses the creation of a paradigmatic multi-ethnic state, Yugoslavia, in 1918, and a novel large dataset of grain prices to examine the effect of ethnicity on trade costs when borders changed. Controlling for transport costs and import tariffs, we find a large but transitory border effect. Ethno-religious differences initially significantly increased price gaps, but their negative influence vanished over time as well. The decline was virtually complete about 16 years before unification and involved city-pairs divided by the border, supporting the hypothesis that Yugoslav unification nationalism fostered trust across ethno-religious networks of international traders.
Balkans: History, Politics, Society · Global trade and economics · Historical Economic and Social Studies
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| Highly cited | No |
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