Globalization and cultural spillover in trade: evidence from the Japanese food culture

Trade can be slowed down by cultural diversity as a source of friction but also accelerated by the emergence of a global culture. We attempt to illustrate this point by focusing on one good, Japanese sake, whose exports can benefit from the diffusion of Japanese food culture as represented by sushi consumption. We estimate a gravity model of Japanese sake exports worldwide over the years 2001–2016, showing that this trade responds to standard determinants (GDP, distance, exchange rates, tariffs) but also to the flow of Google searches for the word ‘sushi’. We extensively discuss the assumption that sushi, as a proxy for the popularity of Japanese culture, is unaffected by other unobservables that may drive up exports from Japan. Future research should attempt to model and further characterize the spillovers from a global culture on international trade.