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Do language barriers affect trade?

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  • Lohmann, Johannes

Abstract

Language barriers may be more important to international trade than previously thought. The Language Barrier Index, a newly constructed variable that uses detailed linguistic data, is used to show that language barriers are significantly negatively correlated with bilateral trade.

Suggested Citation

  • Lohmann, Johannes, 2011. "Do language barriers affect trade?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 110(2), pages 159-162, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:110:y:2011:i:2:p:159-162
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Glick, Reuven & Rose, Andrew K., 2002. "Does a currency union affect trade? The time-series evidence," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(6), pages 1125-1151, June.
    2. Andrew K. Rose, 2004. "Do We Really Know That the WTO Increases Trade?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 98-114, March.
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    1. Hatnak-e a nyelvi korlátok a kereskedelemre?
      by csakmakro in csakmakro on 2011-11-06 18:00:00

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    Cited by:

    1. Amir Maghssudipour & Annalisa Caloffi & Marco Bellandi & Letizia Donati, 2022. "Language as a regional driver of the trade of place-sensitive products: The case of made-in-Italy goods," Working Papers - Economics wp2022_09.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    2. Isphording, Ingo E., 2014. "Disadvantages of linguistic origin—Evidence from immigrant literacy scores," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 123(2), pages 236-239.
    3. Isphording, Ingo E. & Otten, Sebastian, 2014. "Linguistic barriers in the destination language acquisition of immigrants," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 30-50.
    4. Hadia Fakhreldin, 2018. "Examining the Effect of Cultural Intelligence on the Internationalization of Swiss Small and Medium Enterprises," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(6), pages 89-101, June.
    5. Bian, Wenlong & Ji, Yang & Zhang, Hao, 2019. "Does dialect similarity add value to banks? Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 226-241.
    6. Alexandre Repkine, 2014. "Ethnic Diversity, Political Stability and Productive Efficiency: Empirical Evidence from the African Countries," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 82(3), pages 315-333, September.
    7. Aldis Bulis & Sajal Kabiraj & Md Nur Alam Siddik, 2021. "Competitiveness Impedimental Factors of Latvian Manufacturing Companies in China," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 22(2), pages 290-310, April.
    8. Cheng, Hua & Hu, Cui & Li, Ben G., 2020. "Lexicographic biases in international trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    9. Jason Query & Jon C. Thompson, 2024. "Cultural Distance and International Trade," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 283-300, April.
    10. Hu, Xiaoqian & Sun, Boxue & Wang, Chao & Lim, Ming K. & Wang, Peng & Geng, Xinyi & Yao, Cuiyou & Chen, Wei-Qiang, 2023. "Impacts of China’s exports decline in rare earth primary materials from a trade network-based perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    11. Zhang, Hai-Ying & Ji, Qiang & Fan, Ying, 2015. "What drives the formation of global oil trade patterns?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 639-648.
    12. Bia, Michela & Flores-Lagunes, Alfonso & Mercatanti, Andrea, 2018. "Evaluation of Language Training Programs in Luxembourg using Principal Stratification," GLO Discussion Paper Series 289, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    13. Xiahai Wei & Yang Jiao & Glenn Growe, 2019. "Language skills and migrant entrepreneurship: evidence from China," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 981-999, December.
    14. Li, Wanli & Wang, Chaohui & Ren, Qizhe & Zhao, Ding, 2020. "Institutional distance and cross-border M&A performance: A dynamic perspective," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    15. Yang, Na & Zhang, Yuan & Yu, Lu & Wang, Jue & Liu, Xiaming, 2022. "Cross-border mergers and acquisitions, regional cultural diversity and acquirers’ corporate social responsibility: Evidence from China listed companies," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 565-578.
    16. Julio Vicente Cateia & Luc Savard & Edivo Oliveira de Almeida & William Barbosa, 2022. "Informality, Trade Facilitation, and Trade Flows: Evidence from Guinea-Bissau," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 14(11), pages 1-21, November.
    17. Luo, Yangyuyu & Scrimgeour, Frank & Bano, Sayeeda, 2023. "Survival Analysis of New Zealand Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Imports," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 48(1), January.
    18. Isphording, Ingo E., 2014. "Language and Labor Market Success," IZA Discussion Papers 8572, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Silke Uebelmesser & Severin Weingarten, 2017. "A Macro-level Analysis of Adult-age Language Learning," CESifo Working Paper Series 6511, CESifo.
    20. Mauro Mediavilla & María-Jesús Mancebón & José-María Gómez-Sancho & Luis Pires Jiménez, 2019. "Bilingual education and school choice: a case study of public secondary schools in the Spanish region of Madrid," Working Papers 2019/01, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    21. Erik Brynjolfsson & Xiang Hui & Meng Liu, 2019. "Does Machine Translation Affect International Trade? Evidence from a Large Digital Platform," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(12), pages 5449-5460, December.
    22. Ioanna Konstantakopoulou & Mike Tsionas, 2024. "Identifying Export Opportunities: Empirical Evidence from the Southern Euro Area Countries," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 41-70, February.
    23. Qiaowen Zhang & Benjamin Batinge, 2021. "A social network analysis of the structure and evolution of intra‐African trade," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 33(1), pages 204-217, March.
    24. Ziming Bai & Chenyang Liu & Hongye Wang & Cuixia Li, 2023. "Evolution Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Global Dairy Trade," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-20, January.
    25. Weingarten, Severin & Uebelmesser, Silke, 2015. "Language Learning and Migration: A New Dataset on Language Course and Exam Participation," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 112958, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

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