IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jecomi/v12y2024i11p305-d1519464.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Economic Factors on Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Trade with BRICS Countries: A Gravity Model Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Houcine Benlaria

    (Department of Business Administration, College of Business, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Saudi Arabia)

Abstract

Our investigation, bolstered by the robust gravity trade model and panel data econometric technique, underscores the pivotal factors that influence trade interactions between Saudi Arabia and the BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The study, spanning from 1998 to 2023, delves into key economic metrics such as the gross domestic product, exchange rate fluctuations, inflationary trends, political conditions, and trade deals. We employ a range of econometric strategies, including pooled Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and fixed effects models, to reveal that the GDP of BRICS states consistently and significantly impacts trade volumes. Specifically, a 1% increase in the GDP of partner countries correlates with a 0.37% rise in trade volume within the pooled OLS model. This effect amplifies to 1.43% when adjusting for temporal and country-specific factors in the fixed effects, underscoring the importance of accommodating unobserved heterogeneity, which refers to the unmeasured factors that can influence the relationship between GDP and trade volume. The political stability of BRICS nations mitigates transactional risks and promotes more stable trade relationships, thereby enhancing trade flows. Fluctuations in exchange rates exert positive and significant effects. This indicates that a more robust Saudi Riyal, an essential policy instrument, can enhance trade by increasing the competitiveness of Saudi exports. This study demonstrates that economic magnitude, political stability, and exchange rates affect Saudi Arabia’s trade with BRICS nations. These results bolster the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objectives for economic diversification. This research advocates for stable political climates and strategic trade agreements to enhance trade relations. This study asserts that this approach will guarantee sustainable growth and diminish the Kingdom’s reliance on oil exports, instilling optimism in the Saudi economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Houcine Benlaria, 2024. "The Impact of Economic Factors on Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Trade with BRICS Countries: A Gravity Model Approach," Economies, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-18, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:12:y:2024:i:11:p:305-:d:1519464
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/12/11/305/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/12/11/305/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Campi, Mercedes & Dueñas, Marco, 2019. "Intellectual property rights, trade agreements, and international trade," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 531-545.
    2. Anderson, James E, 1979. "A Theoretical Foundation for the Gravity Equation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 69(1), pages 106-116, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Katharina Längle, 2020. "Upgrading of Exports: Does the Integration into Trade Agreements Pave the Way to Product Upgrading?," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 20006, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    2. Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso & Santiago Chelala, 2021. "Trade agreements and international technology transfer," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 157(3), pages 631-665, August.
    3. Zi Hui Yin & Chang Hwan Choi, 2023. "The effects of China’s cross-border e-commerce on its exports: a comparative analysis of goods and services trade," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 443-474, March.
    4. Katharina Längle, 2020. "Upgrading of Exports: Does the Integration into Trade Agreements Pave the Way to Product Upgrading?," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-02899973, HAL.
    5. Katharina Längle, 2020. "Upgrading of Exports: Does the Integration into Trade Agreements Pave the Way to Product Upgrading?," Post-Print halshs-02899973, HAL.
    6. Katharina Längle, 2020. "Upgrading of Exports: Does the Integration into Trade Agreements Pave the Way to Product Upgrading?," Working Papers hal-02548689, HAL.
    7. Katharina Längle, 2020. "Upgrading of Exports: Does the Integration into Trade Agreements Pave the Way to Product Upgrading?," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-02548689, HAL.
    8. Nilanjan Banik & John Gilbert, 2010. "Regional Integration and Trade Costs in South Asia," Chapters, in: Douglas H. Brooks & Susan F. Stone (ed.), Trade Facilitation and Regional Cooperation in Asia, chapter 4, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Karlsson, Martin & Nilsson, Therese & Pichler, Stefan, 2012. "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger? The Impact of the 1918 Spanish Flu Epidemic on Economic Performance in Sweden," Working Paper Series 911, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    10. Bühler, Mathias, 2024. "Who Benefits from Free Trade?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    11. Ghatak, Subrata & Piperakis, Andromachi S., 2007. "The impact of Eastern European immigration to UK trade," Economics Discussion Papers 2007-3, School of Economics, Kingston University London.
    12. David Law & Murat Genç & John Bryant, 2013. "Trade, Diaspora and Migration to New Zealand," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(5), pages 582-606, May.
    13. V. I. Blanutsa, 2022. "Geographic Research of the Platform Economy: Existing and Potential Approaches," Regional Research of Russia, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 133-142, June.
    14. Markus Brueckner & Ngo Van Long & Joaquin L. Vespignani, 2020. "Non-Gravity Trade," Globalization Institute Working Papers 388, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
    15. Walid Hejazi, 2005. "Are Regional Concentrations of OECD Exports and Outward FDI Consistent with Gravity?," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 33(4), pages 423-436, December.
    16. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/6apm7lruv088iagm4rv2c33jtg is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Michael Knuchel, 2018. "Comparing estimation methods of trade costs," Aussenwirtschaft, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science, Swiss Institute for International Economics and Applied Economics Research, vol. 69(01), pages 81-106, December.
    18. Wang, Hao & Han, Yonghui & Fidrmuc, Jan & Wei, Dongming, 2021. "Confucius Institute, Belt and Road Initiative, and Internationalization," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 237-256.
    19. Virag-Neumann, Ildiko, 2015. "Impacts of EU Enlargement Process: A Gravity Model Approach," Proceedings of the ENTRENOVA - ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion Conference (2015), Kotor, Montengero, in: Proceedings of the ENTRENOVA - ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion Conference, Kotor, Montengero, 10-11 September 2015, pages 453-460, IRENET - Society for Advancing Innovation and Research in Economy, Zagreb.
    20. Schaak, Henning, 2015. "The Impact of Free Trade Agreements on International Agricultural Trade: A Gravity Application on the Dairy Product Trade and the ASEAN-China-FTA," 55th Annual Conference, Giessen, Germany, September 23-25, 2015 211619, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    21. Karlsson, Martin & Nilsson, Therese & Pichler, Stefan, 2014. "The impact of the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic on economic performance in Sweden," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 1-19.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:12:y:2024:i:11:p:305-:d:1519464. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.