International integration and regional inequalities: how important is national infrastructure?

We investigate how international trade and trade policy possibly affect the regional distribution of economic activities within a country involved in a process of economic integration. Our analysis reveals that the impact of decreasing international trade costs on the spatial distribution of economic activities strongly depends on the structure of trade flows and the value of transport costs internal to the country. Whereas trade liberalization in developing countries with poor infrastructure and mostly autarkic regions may exacerbate spatial inequalities, countries with better infrastructure and larger volumes of interregional trade may experience a more balanced geographical development