Data and Code for: Entrepot: Hubs, Scale, and Trade Costs

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Sharat Ganapati, Georgetown University; Woan Foong Wong, Woan Foong Wong; Oren Ziv, Michigan State University

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
AuxiliaryData			08/31/2023 03:06:PM
DoFiles			09/06/2023 07:20:PM
IntermediateData			05/09/2023 02:20:PM
MatlabCounterfactual			05/09/2023 02:20:PM
MatlabEstimation			05/10/2023 12:35:AM
RawData			05/09/2023 02:20:PM
Results			09/01/2023 01:29:PM
Figure1.gephi	application/zip	123.6 KB	09/05/2023 02:45:PM
ReadMe_Entrepot.pdf	application/pdf	126.6 KB	10/02/2023 08:49:AM
gephi-0.10.1-macos-x64.dmg	application/zlib	143.9 MB	09/06/2023 03:29:PM

Project Citation:

Ganapati, Sharat, Wong, Woan Foong, and Ziv, Oren. Data and Code for: Entrepot: Hubs, Scale, and Trade Costs. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2024. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-08-22. https://doi.org/10.3886/E188242V1

Project Description

Summary: We study the global trade network and quantify its trade and welfare impact. We document that the trade network is a hub-and-spoke system where 80\% of trade is shipped indirectly, nearly all via entrepôts---major hubs that facilitate trade between many origins and destinations. We estimate indirect-shipping-consistent trade costs using a model where shipments can be sent indirectly through an endogenous transport network and develop a geography-based instrument to estimate scale economies in shipping. Network and scale effects propagate local trade cost changes globally. Counterfactual infrastructure improvements at entrepôts generate ten times the global welfare impact relative to non-entrepôts.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: trade costs; scale; shipping; transport costs; transport networks; networks; containers; international trade; scale economies

JEL Classification:
      F12 Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
      F14 Empirical Studies of Trade
      F62 Economic Impacts of Globalization: Macroeconomic Impacts
      R40 Transportation Economics: General

Geographic Coverage: World

Time Period(s): 2014 – 2014

Universe: All container ships in 2014 and their voyages. All bills of lading for containship voyages ending in the US in 2014.

Data Type(s): administrative records data; aggregate data; geographic information system (GIS) data; observational data

Collection Notes: N/A

Methodology

Response Rate: N/A

Sampling: Complete Universe

Data Source: Astra Paging, Panjiva Data; derived from AIS and US Customs Data

Collection Mode(s): other

Scales: N/A

Weights: N/A

Unit(s) of Observation: Ships and containers

Geographic Unit: County and Port

Related Publications

Download this project

Published Versions

V1 [2024-08-22]

Export Metadata

Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

Report a Problem

Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.

This material is distributed exactly as received from the data depositor. As of April 2026, depositors are required to submit study materials in accessible formats. ICPSR has not reviewed, checked, or processed this material. For additional information about the study, please contact the investigator(s) directly. If you have questions about the accessibility of materials distributed by ICPSR or require further assistance, please visit ICPSR's Accessibility Center.