The Standard GTAP Model, Version 7

Abstract

This paper provides complete documentation for version 7 of the ‘standard’ Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model. This is the first comprehensive documentation of the model since the 1997 ‘GTAP book’ and this updated version includes some important new features. On a substantive level, commodities and activities are separated, allowing for multi-product sectors, as well as multiple sectors producing the same commodity. Additional flexibility is provided for modeling of production and consumption behavior, and the valuation and naming conventions have been modified. In addition, this paper folds in important advances since the 1997 publication, including the revised treatment of non-homotheticity in final demand, the welfare decomposition and multi-modal international transportation. The paper opens with an overview which puts this widely used model in broader context. The model exposition is comprehensive and includes a bridging table linking the original, ‘classic’ model with the current version. This is followed by a section discussing the major extensions of the standard model and how they are being used. The paper closes with an overall assessment and a discussion of future research directions.