Excerpt

RELATIONSHIP-SPECIFICITY, INCOMPLETE CONTRACTS, AND THE PATTERN OF TRADE. Nathan Nunn, May 2007, Paper. "Is a country's ability to enforce contracts an important determinant of comparative advantage? To answer this question, I construct a variable that measures, for each good, the proportion of its intermediate inputs that require relationship-specific investments. Combining this measure with data on trade flows and judicial quality, I find that countries with good contract enforcement specialize in the production of goods for which relationship-specific investments are most important..." Link