Harald Oberhofer

Revisiting Time as a Trade Barrier

In a recent paper, Harald Oberhofer, together with coauthors Michael Pfaffermayr and Richard Sellner, apply a panel data structural gravity model for revisiting the role of time necessary for administrative trade procedures as a barrier for international trade. The estimated structural parameters are used for conducting counterfactual policy scenarios which allow them to quantify the trade and welfare potentials stemming from more efficient administrative trade procedures – especially for developing economies.  

Mr. Oberhofer’s research interests include empirical international economics, industrial organization and applied econometrics. He serves as a member of the editorial board of Economic Systems. His research is published in international peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Public Economics, European Economic Review, Small Business Economics, World Economy, among others. He also regularly serves as a short-term consultant to international organizations such as the OECD and the World Bank and publishes opinion pieces in the Austrian daily press.

While visiting CESifo, Mr Oberhofer will work on a structural gravity model which incorporates some main ingredients from endogenous growth theory. The resulting empirically estimable model aims at disentangling the individual effects of trade policy (trade liberalization) and changes in productivity (R&D policy) for international trade and economic growth. Furthermore, he aims to conclude his recent work on the propagation of business sentiment within the European Union.

Harald Oberhofer is a Professor of Economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) and a senior researcher at the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO). He studied at the University of Innsbruck where he obtained Masters in Economics and in Political Science. He further holds a PhD in Economics and Social Sciences from the University of Innsbruck. Prior to joining WU and WIFO, he held a position as Assistant Professor and later Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Salzburg, where he received his habilitation (venia docendi) in Economics.