Paper #821

Title:

Geographical effects on the accuracy of textile trade data:an international approach for 1913

Author:

Anna Carreras

Date:

March 2005

Abstract:

Foreign trade statistics are the main data source to the study of international trade. However its accuracy has been under suspicion since Morgernstern published his famous work in 1963. Federico and Tena (1991) have resumed the question arguing that they can be useful in an adequate level of aggregation. But the geographical assignment problem remains unsolved. This article focuses on the spatial variable through the analysis of the reliability of textile international data for 1913. A geographical bias arises between export and import series, but because of its quantitative importance it can be negligible in an international scale.

Keywords:

Economic geography, Statistical accuracy, Economic textile history

JEL codes:

B4, N01, N73

Area of Research:

Economic and Business History

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