Effects of European Sovereign Debt (Leverage) Crisis on Bilateral Trade Flows

Abstract

Outbreak of 2009 European sovereign debt (leverage) crisis has been one of the most crucial economic events of recent years. Accordingly, researchers devoted a great deal of efforts to elucidate origins and consequences of this crisis, particularly focusing on its potential effect on international trade flows. Yet in the literature, there have been rare studies on exploring the effects of sovereign debt crisis on the bilateral trade flows of Eurozone members. In this study, by using an augmented gravity model, we have studied the effect of sovereign debt crisis on bilateral trade flows within Eurozone countries. In this regard, we have used cross-section data from six European countries including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece for the period of 1995-2013, and then have estimated the model with a semi-parametric panel data approach. The empirical results have shown that scales of economies and markets play significant parametric roles in the bilateral trade flows in the Eurozone while debt crisis explains trade relations non-parametrically.