Poids économique de la francophonie : impact via l’ouverture commerciale

This article explores how French as a common language influences trade compared to other dimensions of proximity (geographical, historical, etc.). We then estimate, for the French-speaking countries, the economic value of French in terms of trade flows, and in terms of per capita income and unemployment through the trade openness channel. Relying on the estimation of a gravity model with panel trade data, we find that on average a French-speaking country trades 22 % more with another French-speaking partner than with a similar non-French-speaking partner. In addition, the impact of French as a common language appears larger during the 2008 crisis, implying that sharing a common language not only fosters bilateral trade but also allows for more resilient trade flows during crises. A comparison with other linguistic areas (English, Portuguese, Spanish and Arabic) reveals that the impact of a common language on trade openness is similar across languages. Overall, the benefits of sharing a same language in terms of GDP are marginal (though there exists an important heterogeneity) and almost inexistent on unemployment. Codes JEL : F10, F14, Z10.