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Cultural Distance and Bilateral Trade

Author

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  • Teresa L. Cyrus

    (Dalhousie University)

Abstract

This paper examines the extent to which cultural proximity influences, and is influenced by, bilateral trade flows. Variables measuring common language or religion, commonly considered to be measures of cultural proximity, have been found to be highly significant in explaining the volume of trade between countries, but these measures have the distinct disadvantage of being static; they do not change over time. In fact, however, culture does change, possibly in response to exposure to the foreign goods, methods, and ideas brought across borders by trade; the cultural "distance" between two countries can therefore be seen to fall or rise over time. In this paper, responses to World Values Survey questions regarding trust, respect, control, and obedience are used to create a measure of cultural distance. I use this cultural distance variable in gravity regressions and show that more culturally-distant countries trade less, but that more traditional measures of culture are more significant in explaining trade. I then explore the determinants of cultural distance, finding that exports reduce cultural distance.

Suggested Citation

  • Teresa L. Cyrus, 2012. "Cultural Distance and Bilateral Trade," Global Economy Journal (GEJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 12(4), pages 1-25, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:gejxxx:v:12:y:2012:i:04:n:1524-5861.1895
    DOI: 10.1515/1524-5861.1895
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Cyrus Teresa L., 2012. "Cultural Distance and Bilateral Trade," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 12(4), pages 1-25, December.
    2. Shulgin, Sergey & Zinkina, Julia & Korotayev, Andrey, 2017. "“Neighbors in values”: A new dataset of cultural distances between countries based on individuals’ values, and its application to the study of global trade," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 966-985.
    3. repec:abr:oajaas:v:3:y:2021:i:3:p:379-382 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Pham Hoang Linh & Nguyen Khanh Doanh & Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, 2019. "Determinants of Vietnam`s potential trade: a case study of agricultural exports to the European Union," Asian Journal of Agriculture and rural Development, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 9(1), pages 33-46, June.
    5. Yongwei Chen & Wei‐Min Hu & Radek Szulga & Buoyuan Xue, 2018. "Cultural Differences and Interprovincial Trade in China: Effect of Surname Distance and its Mechanisms," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(4), pages 609-631, October.
    6. Wang, Yongjin & Wang, Yanling & Li, Kunwang, 2014. "Judicial quality, contract intensity and exports: Firm-level evidence," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 32-42.
    7. Visser, Robin, 2019. "The effect of the internet on the margins of trade," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 41-54.
    8. Shetewy, Nsreen & Shahin, Ahmed Ismail & Omri, Anis & Dai, Kuizao, 2022. "Impact of financial development and internet use on export growth: New evidence from machine learning models," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    9. Chiara Franco & Daniela Maggioni, 2022. "Does international trade favor proximity in cultural beliefs?," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 12(3), pages 449-477, September.
    10. Xiaomiao Yin & Lirong Xing & Chunxiao Cui, 2023. "The Impact of Multi-Dimensional Vectors on China’s Agricultural Products Export: Based on fsQCA," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-14, September.
    11. Hoonsawat Ratidanai, 2016. "Information Searching: The Case of Tourism Promoted Through the Internet," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 16(1), pages 33-47, March.
    12. Hu, Xiaoqian & Sun, Boxue & Wang, Chao & Lim, Ming K. & Wang, Peng & Geng, Xinyi & Yao, Cuiyou & Chen, Wei-Qiang, 2023. "Impacts of China’s exports decline in rare earth primary materials from a trade network-based perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    13. Liu, Ailan & Lu, Cuicui & Wang, Zhixuan, 2021. "Does cultural distance hinder exports?: A comparative study of China and the United States," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    14. Shuzhong Ma & Xueyao Guo & Hongsheng Zhang, 2021. "New driving force for China’s import growth: Assessing the role of cross‐border e‐commerce," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(12), pages 3674-3706, December.
    15. Bastos, Paulo & Silva, Joana, 2012. "Networks, firms, and trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 352-364.
    16. Dekuwmini Mornah & Raymond MacDermott, 2016. "Culture as a Determinant of Competitive Advantage in Trade," International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), International Hellenic University (IHU), Kavala Campus, Greece (formerly Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology - EMaTTech), vol. 9(1), pages 69-76, April.
    17. Chen, Daniel L., 2023. "Do markets overcome repugnance? Muslim trade response to anti-Muhammad cartoons," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    18. Ratidanai Hoonsawat, 2016. "Information Searching: The Case of Tourism Promoted Through the Internet," Global Economy Journal (GEJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 16(1), pages 33-47, March.

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