Cultural Proximity and Trade

Cultural proximity is an important determinant of bilateral trade volumes. However, empirical quantification and testing are difficult due to the elusiveness of the concept and lack of observability. This paper draws on bilateral score data from the Eurovision Song Contest, a very popular pan-European television show, to construct a measure of cultural proximity which varies over time and within country pairs, and that correlates strongly with conventional indicators. Within the framework of a theory-grounded gravity model, we show that our measure positively affects trade volumes even if controlling for standard measures of cultural proximity and bilateral fixed effects.International trade Gravity equation Cultural proximity Eurovision song contest

Cultural proximity and trade

Cultural proximity increases bilateral trade flows through a trade-cost and a bilateral-affinity (preferences) channel. Conventional measures of cultural proximity, such as common language, common religion, etc., do not allow to separately quantify those channels empirically. We argue that quality-adjusted Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) scores can be used as dyadic, time-variant information on European countries' cultural proximity. Assuming that the tradecost related component of cultural proximity is time-invariant, in a gravity model of bilateral trade, the time dimension of the ESC data allows to identify the preferences effect. The validity of our identification strategy can be tested by exploiting the lack of systematic reciprocity in ESC scores. While we find robust evidence for a sizable preferences effect, the impact of cultural proximity on trade runs largely through the cost effect. --international trade,gravity equation,cultural prox imity,identification

Distance costs and Multinationals' foreign activities

We derive a gravity equation from two general equilibrium models with multinational firms: a symmetric firm model where foreign affiliates rely on specific intermediate goods and a heterogenous firms model with country-specific fixed costs. Although the reduced form gravity equation is the same, the structural models behind it differ. In the heterogenous firm model less (but larger) firms enter more distant markets which yields lower aggregate sales. In the symmetric firm intermediate input model, in contrast, lower aggregate sales result from lower sales per foreign affiliate. We use the gravity equation to discriminate between the two models. Thereby, we find more support for the heterogenous firm model.Gravity equation, multinational firms, distance costs

A Structural Model of Export versus Affiliates Production

We derive and estimate an econometric model of export versus foreign production using firm-level data on foreign activities of German multinationals. Proximity-concentration theory which we derive our model from shows that firms face a trade-off between concentrating their production at home to save on plant set-up costs and producing abroad to save on distance costs. Firms facing this trade-off choose between export and foreign production according to their expected profits. The model is brought to the data using a pooled-probit analysis over the period 1996-1999. We find support for the proximity-concentration trade-off. In particular, market size and distance affect positively the probability of foreign production whereas fixed costs have a negative impact on the decision to engage in FDI. --Multinational firms,trade

Dissecting FDI

This paper investigates the importance of firm heterogeneity for our understanding of the aggregate volume of cross-country multinational sales. Recent theoretical literature points out a sorting out firms with respect to their internationalization strategy according to their productivity. Using the firm level data from German firms' activities, we find a strong effect of firms' size on internationalization pattern. Moreover, we show that most of variation of the aggregate volume of multinational sales is due to variation in the number of firms participating in the market.Gravity equation, multinational firms, heterogeneity

Gravity for FDI

Gravity equations explaining foreign affiliates' sales are ad hoc and hence, estimated coeffcients are hard to interpret. We therefore provide the theoretical underpinnings of the gravity equation applied to the analysis of sales of foreign affiliates of multinational firms. We argue that the success of the gravity equation results from the fact that it can be derived from various theoretical models. We illustrate this point by deriving a gravity equation from three different models of multinational firms. Using data on real affiliate sales, we show how this derived gravity equation can nevertheless be used to discriminate between the different theoretical models. - gravity equation ; multinational firms ; heterogeneity --

Production versus Distribution-oriented FDI

The business literature has long recognized the importance of multinationals' distribution networks. The empirical analysis of distribution-oriented FDI has, however, received little attention which is at least partly due to the lack of appropriate data. We present a slightly modified version of Helpman, Melitz, and Yeaple (2004) that explicitly models the possibility for a multinational firm to export through its wholesale trade affiliate. We analyze the multinational firms' choice between foreign production and foreign distribution. Our empirical analysis uses different discrete choice models and alternative specifications for several sub-samples of multinational firms. We consider complex foreign sales strategies and correct for the sample selection bias that arises because we only observe firms that have foreign affiliates. Our results show that the decision between distribution and production-oriented FDI is based on the trade-off between fixed and variable costsMultinational firms, Wholesale sales, Discrete choice

The impact of locating production abroad on activities at home

We analyze whether firms that establish their first affiliate in a foreign country have a different pattern of growth in output, employment, capital and productivity than firms that remain national. We use firm-level data on German multinational activities and appropriate matching techniques to compare the performance of German multinational firms with their national counterparts. We do not find a negative effect of firm's decision to establish a foreign affiliate on growth in its employment at home. There is also no significant effect of the internationalization decision of German firms on other measures of activities at home. --multinational firms,employment,matching

Foreign sales strategies of multinational enterprises

The business literature has long recognized the importance of multinationals' distribution networks. The empirical analysis of distribution-oriented FDI has, however, received little attention which is at least partly due to the lack of appropriate data. We outline a slightly modified version of Helpman, Melitz, and Yeaple (2004) that explicitly models the possibility for a multinational firm to export through its wholesale trade affiliate in order to analyze multinational firms' choice between foreign production and foreign distribution. The subsequent empirical analysis uses different discrete choice models. We use alternative specifications and report estimation results for several sub-samples of multinational firms. We also consider more complex foreign sales strategies and correct for the sample selection bias that arises because we only observe firms that have foreign affiliates. Our results show that the decision between distribution and production-oriented FDI is based on the trade-off between fixed and variable costs. --Multinational firms,Wholesale sales,Discrete choice

Openness and Growth: The Long Shadow of the Berlin Wall

The question whether international openness causes higher domestic growth has been subject to intense discussions in the empirical growth literature. This paper addresses this issue using the fall of the Berlin wall in 1990 as a natural experiment. We analyze whether the slow-down in convergence in per capita income between East and West Germany since the mid-1990s and the lower international openness of East Germany are linked. We address the endogeneity of openness by adapting the methodology proposed by Frankel and Romer (1999) in a panel framework. We instrument openness with time-invariant exogenous geographic variables and time-varying exogenous policy variables. We also distinguish different channels of integration. Our paper has three main findings. First, geographic variables have a significant impact on regional openness. Second, controlling for geography, East German states are less integrated into international markets along all dimensions of integration considered. Third, the degree of openness for trade has a positive impact on regional income per capita.openness, growth, German re-unification