Colloquium: Essays on Institutions and Economic Outcomes

ABSTRACT:  This dissertation comprises three essays exploring how institutions shape economic outcomes in the areas of international trade and local development. The first essay examines the role of international institutional integration in promoting trade. It studies how membership in international standard-setting arrangements affects bilateral trade flows and whether institutional harmonization reduces trade frictions between countries. The second essay turns to the opposite margin and investigates the consequences of institutional disintegration. Specifically, it assesses how the withdrawal from regional trade agreements affects bilateral trade. The third essay explores the local development effects of digital transformation in rural China. It analyses whether the emergence of Taobao Villages, as concentrated e-commerce clusters, is associated with changes in local economic activity. Together, these essays highlight how institutional change affects market access and incentives across countries and regions. By bringing together evidence from international trade and rural development, the dissertation contributes to a broader understanding of how institutions shape economic performance over time.