In this paper, the impact of land-lockedness on trade is estimated for a panel database using a gravity approach. By first examining Central Asian economies, it appears that land-lockedness implies a high transport cost burden. In a second step, the impact of land-lockedness on trade has been measured using four measures of being landlocked: the first estimation is obtained by introducing a dummy variable, the second estimate uses the shortest distance between a land-locked country and the nearest major port facility, the third measure represents the number of borders with coastal countries and the fourth is the number of national borders crossed. From over 10,000 observations, using a sample of 46 countries over a 5-year period, we conclude that being landlocked would reduce trade by more than 80% when measured by a dummy variable. Using the Cheng and Wall econometric approach, we find that the four measures are confirmed empirically. Finally, evidence shows that the number of border-crossings, which implies a transport cost burden, can explain a major part of the extra cost of overland transport in comparison with maritime transport. Comparative Economic Studies (2003) 45, 520–536. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ces.8100031

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The pallet is a platform used for storing, handling and transporting products. There are hundreds of different pallet sizes around the world. The case of pallets is examined to illustrate the impact of multiplicity of standards on trade costs. We select this case because pallets are used all over the world, pallet standards are not too sophisticated, and data on pallet standards and costs are to some extent available. The paper examines why there are so many different pallet standards, the associated trade costs and the reasons why countries have not harmonised pallet sizes to eliminate such costs. It then presents options for exporters to mitigate the adverse effects of standards multiplicity while complying with destination markets' standard requirements. The range of options is limited for exporters from less developed countries because of the lack of rental and exchange pallet markets. To mitigate the costs of this multiplicity of standards, the international community's strategy should focus on developing awareness of the cost of multiplicity of standards and actively supporting standardisation. Copyright 2007 The Authors Journal compilation 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd .

Are politically connected firms more likely to evade taxes? This paper presents evidence suggesting firms owned by President Ben Ali and his family were more prone to evading import tariffs. During Ben Ali's reign, evasion gaps, defined as the difference between the value of exports to Tunisia reported by partner countries and the value of imports reported at Tunisian customs, were correlated with the import share of connected firms. This association was especially strong for goods subject to high tariffs, and driven by underreporting of unit prices, which diminished after the revolution. Consistent with these product-level patterns, unit prices reported by connected firms were lower than those reported by other firms, and declined faster with tariffs than those of other firms. Moreover, privatization to the Ben Ali family was associated with a reduction in reported unit prices, whereas privatization per se was not. JEL Classifications: F13, H26, D73

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