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Distance, Empire, and British Exports Over Two Centuries

Author

Listed:
  • David S Jacks

    (NUS - National University of Singapore, ABFER - Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research)

  • Kevin Hjortshøj O'Rourke

    (ECON - Département d'économie (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research)

  • Alan M Taylor

    (Columbia University [New York], CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research, NBER - National Bureau of Economic Research [New York] - NBER - The National Bureau of Economic Research)

  • Yoto V Yotov

    (Drexel University, CESifo - LMU - Ludwig Maximilian University [Munich] = Ludwig Maximilians Universität München)

Abstract

We introduce a new dataset on British exports at the bilateral, commodity-level from 1700 to 1899. We then pit two primary determinants of bilateral trade against one another: the trade-diminishing effects of distance versus the trade-enhancing effects of the British Empire. We find that the impact of gravity fell by a factor of roughly three between the 1780s and 1850s. The impact of empire on British exports was extremely large throughout, but the impact of 18th century mercantilism was much higher than that of empire in the liberal late 19th century.

Suggested Citation

  • David S Jacks & Kevin Hjortshøj O'Rourke & Alan M Taylor & Yoto V Yotov, 2025. "Distance, Empire, and British Exports Over Two Centuries," SciencePo Working papers hal-05066590, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpspec:hal-05066590
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://sciencespo.hal.science/hal-05066590v1
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