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Economic return to political support: Evidence from voting on the representation of China in the United Nations

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  • Yan, Jiaqiang
  • Zhou, Yonghong

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of political support in the United Nations on international trade by taking the votes on the representation of China from 1954 to 1971 as a case study. We document a strongly positive effect of political support toward the People's Republic of China on bilateral trade in the next year. This conclusion is robust when we consider different quantitative methods and sample selections. Two approaches are applied to address the potential endogeneity problem — estimates with the interest similarity with Albania as an instrumental variable and regressions with samples that changed voting attitude. Finally, we find that this positive effect is short-lived. Our empirical results indicate that political relations, reflected by political attitudes in the votes of the United Nations, exert explicit influence on bilateral economic exchange.

Suggested Citation

  • Yan, Jiaqiang & Zhou, Yonghong, 2021. "Economic return to political support: Evidence from voting on the representation of China in the United Nations," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:asieco:v:75:y:2021:i:c:s1049007821000543
    DOI: 10.1016/j.asieco.2021.101325
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Political relation; International trade; Political similarity; Vote; Economic return;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F50 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - General
    • N40 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - General, International, or Comparative

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