TY - CEPII
A1 - Keith Head A1 - Thierry Mayer
TI - What Separates Us? Sources of Resistance to Globalization
IS - 2013-26
T3 - Working Papers
KW - Globalization KW - Gravity KW - Cultural differences
N2 - With increasing sophistication, economists have been estimating gravity equations for five decades.
Robust evidence shows that borders and distance impede trade by much more than tariffs or transport
costs can explain. We therefore advocate investigation of other sources of resistance, despite the greater
difficult involved in measuring and modeling them. From our selective review of recent findings, a
unifying explanation emerges. A legacy of historical isolation and conflict forged a world economy in
which neither tastes nor information are homogeneously distributed. Cultural difference and inadequate
information manifest themselves most strongly at national borders and over distance.
ER -