Networks and trade costs in commodity markets during the late nineteenth century: a new dataset and evidence

Abstract

A new dataset of weekly wheat prices during the 1898–1914 is generated. Using variance decompositions from vector autoregressive models, a network of nine wheat markets during the sample period is constructed and information spillovers between these markets are analyzed. Our results indicate that trade costs are a significant determinant of the relative importance of information transmission in the continental European wheat trade.