IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ecogov/v10y2009i2p165-186.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Democracy and trade: an empirical study

Author

Listed:
  • Jessica Decker
  • Jamus Lim

Abstract

The theoretical discussion on globalization has suggested that there are linkages between democracy and trade, although the direction of influence is less certain. Formal empirical studies remain scarce, and have often focused on the question of whether democratic regimes influence trade policy, as opposed to the actual relationship between democracy and trade. This paper seeks to answer the question, ``Do democracies trade more?'' by applying the gravity equation to a large dataset of bilateral trade data for the period 1948-1999, while taking into account the role of democracy. It finds that democracy has a positive effect on trade flows, but only after controlling for trade pair heterogeneity. In addition, it makes the case for studies of this nature to draw a distinction between trade flows in the pre- and post-1990s period of rapid democratization as well as between developed and developing countries.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Jessica Decker & Jamus Lim, 2009. "Democracy and trade: an empirical study," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 165-186, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ecogov:v:10:y:2009:i:2:p:165-186
    DOI: 10.1007/s10101-008-0053-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10101-008-0053-8
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10101-008-0053-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Barry Eichengreen & David Leblang, 2008. "Democracy And Globalization," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(3), pages 289-334, November.
    2. Edward D. Mansfield & Helen V. Milner & B. Peter Rosendorff, 2015. "Free to Trade: Democracies, Autocracies, and International Trade," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Edward D Mansfield (ed.), THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE, chapter 7, pages 127-143, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    3. Devashish Mitra & Dimitrios D. Thomakos & Mehmet A. Ulubaşoğlu, 2016. "“Protection For Sale” In A Developing Country: Democracy Vs. Dictatorship," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: The Political Economy of Trade Policy Theory, Evidence and Applications, chapter 9, pages 163-174, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson & Pierre Yared, 2008. "Income and Democracy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(3), pages 808-842, June.
    5. Andrew K. Rose & Mark M. Spiegel, 2004. "A Gravity Model of Sovereign Lending: Trade, Default, and Credit," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 51(s1), pages 50-63, June.
    6. David H. Romer & Jeffrey A. Frankel, 1999. "Does Trade Cause Growth?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(3), pages 379-399, June.
    7. Kevin H. O'Rourke & Alan M. Taylor, 2006. "Democracy and Protectionism," NBER Working Papers 12250, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Grossman, Gene M & Helpman, Elhanan, 1994. "Protection for Sale," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 833-850, September.
    9. Tavares, Jose & Wacziarg, Romain, 2001. "How democracy affects growth," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(8), pages 1341-1378, August.
    10. Mayer, Wolfgang, 1984. "Endogenous Tariff Formation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(5), pages 970-985, December.
    11. Andrew K. Rose, 2000. "One money, one market: the effect of common currencies on trade," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 15(30), pages 08-45.
    12. Edward D. Mansfield & Helen V. Milner & B. Peter Rosendorff, 2015. "Why Democracies Cooperate More: Electoral Control and International Trade Agreements," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Edward D Mansfield (ed.), THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE, chapter 11, pages 227-263, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    13. Robert J. Barro, 1999. "Determinants of Democracy," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(S6), pages 158-183, December.
    14. Robert C. Feenstra & James R. Markusen & Andrew K. Rose, 2001. "Using the gravity equation to differentiate among alternative theories of trade," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(2), pages 430-447, May.
    15. repec:dau:papers:123456789/6159 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Milner, Helen V. & Kubota, Keiko, 2005. "Why the Move to Free Trade? Democracy and Trade Policy in the Developing Countries," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 59(1), pages 107-143, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. C. Umana Dajud, 2013. "Political Proximity and International Trade," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 283-312, November.
    2. Gislain Stéphane Gandjon Fankem, 2016. "Les déterminants du faible degré d'intégration commerciale de la CEEAC: le poids de la fragmentation politique, de la prolifération des Communautés Economiques Régionales et du niveau de démocr," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 28(4), pages 383-396, December.
    3. Zissimos, Ben, 2017. "A theory of trade policy under dictatorship and democratization," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 85-101.
    4. Bernhard Herz & Marco Wagner, 2010. "Multilateralism versus Regionalism!?," DEGIT Conference Papers c015_043, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade.
    5. Daumal, Marie, 2008. "Federalism, separatism and international trade," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 675-687, September.
    6. Roesmara Donna, Duddy & Widodo, Tri & Adiningsih, Sri, 2018. "Does Democracy Increase Bilateral Trade in MENA Region?," MPRA Paper 86369, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Khan, Zakir Saadullah & Hossain, M Ismail, 2010. "Democracy and Trade Balance: A Vector Autoregressive Analysis," Bangladesh Development Studies, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), vol. 33(4), pages 23-37, December.
    8. Oxana Babecká Kucharčuková & Jan Babecký & Martin Raiser, 2012. "Gravity Approach for Modelling International Trade in South-Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States: The Role of Geography, Policy and Institutions," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 277-301, April.
    9. Shahedul Alam Khan & Rumana Mubin, 2019. "Trade, Governance And The Mediating Role Of Innovation," Romanian Economic Business Review, Romanian-American University, vol. 14(3), pages 29-43, September.
    10. Yung-hsiang Ying & Koyin Chang & Ginny ju-ann Yang & Chen-hsun Lee, 2014. "Measuring co-movement of globalization and democratization in the time–frequency space," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 34(1), pages 206-219.
    11. Josheski, Dushko & Apostolov, Mico, 2013. "Macedonia’s exports and the gravity model," MPRA Paper 48180, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Christos Kollias & Suzanna-Maria Paleologou, 2017. "The Globalization and Peace Nexus: Findings Using Two Composite Indices," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 131(3), pages 871-885, April.
    13. Herz Bernhard & Wagner Marco, 2011. "Regionalism as a Building Block for Multilateralism," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 11(1), pages 1-25, March.
    14. Hongchang Wang & Eric Overby, 2023. "Do Political Differences Inhibit Market Transactions? An Investigation in the Context of Online Lending," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(8), pages 4685-4706, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Toke S. Aidt & Martin Gassebner, 2010. "Do Autocratic States Trade Less?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 24(1), pages 38-76, January.
    2. repec:dau:papers:123456789/6251 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Jorge Braga Macedo & Joaquim Oliveira Martins & João Tovar Jalles, 2021. "Globalization, Freedoms and Economic convergence: an empirical exploration of a trivariate relationship using a large panel," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 605-629, July.
    4. Gawande, Kishore & Krishna, Pravin & Olarreaga, Marcelo, 2009. "What Governments Maximize and Why: The View from Trade," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 63(3), pages 491-532, July.
    5. Krenz, Astrid, 2016. "Do political institutions influence international trade? Measurement of institutions and the Long-Run effects," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 276, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    6. repec:dau:papers:123456789/6263 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Rabah Amir & Hend Ghazzai & Rim Lahmandi-Ayed, 2023. "On the political economy of economic integration," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 61(1), pages 61-100, July.
    8. Christopher J. Boudreaux, 2015. "The Evolutionary Effects of Democracy: In the Long Run, We are All Trading?," The International Trade Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(5), pages 376-396, December.
    9. Astrid Krenz & Ana Abeliansky, 2015. "Democracy and Trade—Evidence along the Distribution of Trading Activity," EcoMod2015 8750, EcoMod.
    10. Xuepeng Liu & Emanuel Ornelas, 2014. "Free Trade Agreements and the Consolidation of Democracy," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(2), pages 29-70, April.
    11. Krenz, Astrid, 2013. "Political institutions and trade-evidence for the long-run relationship and causality," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 182, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    12. Dutt, Pushan & Mitra, Devashish, 2009. "Explaining Agricultural Distortion Patterns : The Roles of Ideology, Inequality, Lobbying and Public Finance," Agricultural Distortions Working Paper Series 50299, World Bank.
    13. Daniel Yuichi Kono & Stephanie J. Rickard, 2014. "Buying National: Democracy, Public Procurement, and International Trade," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(5), pages 657-682, October.
    14. Pavel S. Pronin, 2020. "International Trade And Democracy: How Trade Partners Affect Regime Change And Persistence," HSE Working papers WP BRP 75/PS/2020, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    15. Bougharriou, Nouha & Benayed, Walid & Gabsi, Foued Badr, 2019. "The democracy and economic growth nexus: Do FDI and government spending matter? Evidence from the Arab world," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 13, pages 1-29.
    16. Tchouassi Tchouassi, 2013. "Are Trade Liberalization and Democracy Driving Development in Central Africa Region? Empirical Lessons," Journal of Social and Development Sciences, AMH International, vol. 4(3), pages 131-140.
    17. Edward D. Mansfield & Helen V. Milner & Jon C. Pevehouse, 2008. "Democracy, Veto Players and the Depth of Regional Integration," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 67-96, January.
    18. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4103 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Jason S. Davis, 2022. "Screening for losers: Trade institutions and information," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 1-37, January.
    20. Ross Jestrab, 2021. "The effects of domestic labour mobility on trade agreements: Empirical evidence," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(8), pages 2238-2283, August.
    21. Balding, Christopher, 2011. "A Re-examination of the Relation between Democracy and International Trade The Case of Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series 059, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    22. Marcella Nicolini & Alessia Paccagnini, 2011. "Does Trade Foster Institutions? An Empirical Assessment," Review of Economics and Institutions, Università di Perugia, vol. 2(2).
    23. Roy, Martin, 2010. "Endowments, power, and democracy: Political economy of multilateral commitments on trade in services," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2010-11, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Democracy; Trade; Gravity model; F13; P51;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • P51 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - Comparative Analysis of Economic Systems

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:ecogov:v:10:y:2009:i:2:p:165-186. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.