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Press freedom, market information, and international trade

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  • Bjørnskov, Christian
  • Schröder, Philipp J.H.

Abstract

We consider a framework in which freedom of the media can alleviate barriers to trade, while in the absence of trustworthy market information, firms optimally withhold part of their export activity and opt for testing-the-waters strategies. We employ data on export flows among a large group of Western and Latin American countries combined with the Freedom House measure of press freedom to examine the main theoretical implication. In a standard set-up of gravity equations, we find evidence that the effects are partially conditional on the political institutions of the importing country: press freedom is strongly associated with trade with autocracies.

Suggested Citation

  • Bjørnskov, Christian & Schröder, Philipp J.H., 2023. "Press freedom, market information, and international trade," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:poleco:v:76:y:2023:i:c:s0176268022000477
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2022.102236
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trade flows; Press freedom; Regime types; Gravity equations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General

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