The Impact of the Iraq War on US Consumer Goods Sales in Arab Countries

Abstract

Did the rise in anti-American sentiment caused by the Iraq war affect sales of US goods abroad? We address this question using data on sales of soft drinks and fabric detergents in nine Arab countries. We find a statistically significant but modest and short-lived negative impact of the war on sales of US soft drinks in some countries but no impact on the sales of detergents in any country. Variation in aggregate market shares of US products across countries correlates with consumer attitudes toward the US in the soft drink market but not in the detergent market.consumer behavior, consumer boycotts, Iraq war.