IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/diw/diwwpp/dp1182.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Goods Follow Bytes: The Impact of ICT on EU Trade

Author

Listed:
  • Anselm Mattes
  • Philipp Meinen
  • Ferdinand Pavel

Abstract

This paper empirically assesses whether the deployment and use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure at the national level affects trade flows within the European Union (EU) and between the EU and its main trading partners. The analysis tests the hypothesis that availability and use of ICT enhances trade by reducing transaction costs and through network effects that materialize when both trading partners are advanced users of ICT. The empirical analysis is based on the application of gravity equations in various robust specifications. The results suggest that ICT does have a significant impact on EU trade. In particular, we find trade to be enhanced if both trading partners reveal advanced ICT endowments, which supports the expected network effects. Additionally, we observe trade diversion effects from less to highly ICT developed countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Anselm Mattes & Philipp Meinen & Ferdinand Pavel, 2012. "Goods Follow Bytes: The Impact of ICT on EU Trade," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1182, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1182
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.391589.de/dp1182.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dale W. Jorgenson & Mun S. Ho & Kevin J. Stiroh, 2008. "A Retrospective Look at the U.S. Productivity Growth Resurgence," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(1), pages 3-24, Winter.
    2. Baldwin, Richard & Taglioni, Daria, 2006. "Gravity for Dummies and Dummies for Gravity Equations," CEPR Discussion Papers 5850, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Lars-Hendrik Roller & Leonard Waverman, 2001. "Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic Development: A Simultaneous Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 909-923, September.
    4. James H. Stock & Mark W. Watson, 2008. "Heteroskedasticity-Robust Standard Errors for Fixed Effects Panel Data Regression," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 76(1), pages 155-174, January.
    5. Nina Czernich & Oliver Falck & Tobias Kretschmer & Ludger Woessmann, 2011. "Broadband Infrastructure and Economic Growth," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 121(552), pages 505-532, May.
    6. Freund, Caroline L. & Weinhold, Diana, 2004. "The effect of the Internet on international trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 171-189, January.
    7. James E. Anderson & Eric van Wincoop, 2003. "Gravity with Gravitas: A Solution to the Border Puzzle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 170-192, March.
    8. Marc J. Melitz, 2003. "The Impact of Trade on Intra-Industry Reallocations and Aggregate Industry Productivity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 71(6), pages 1695-1725, November.
    9. Scott L. Baier & Jeffrey H. Bergstrand & Peter Egger & Patrick A. McLaughlin, 2008. "Do Economic Integration Agreements Actually Work? Issues in Understanding the Causes and Consequences of the Growth of Regionalism," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 461-497, April.
    10. Nicholas Bloom & John Van Reenen, 2007. "Measuring and Explaining Management Practices Across Firms and Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(4), pages 1351-1408.
    11. Michele FRATIANNI, 2007. "The Gravity Equation in International Trade," Working Papers 307, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I), Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali.
    12. Matthieu Bussière & Jarko Fidrmuc & Bernd Schnatz, 2005. "Trade Integration of Central and Eastern European Countries: Lessons from a Gravity Model," Working Papers 105, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank).
    13. Caroline Freund & Diana Weinhold, 2002. "The Internet and International Trade in Services," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(2), pages 236-240, May.
    14. Egger, Peter, 2000. "A note on the proper econometric specification of the gravity equation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 25-31, January.
    15. Romer, Paul M, 1990. "Endogenous Technological Change," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 71-102, October.
    16. Braumoeller, Bear F., 2004. "Hypothesis Testing and Multiplicative Interaction Terms," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 58(4), pages 807-820, October.
    17. Kevin J. Stiroh, 2002. "Information Technology and the U.S. Productivity Revival: What Do the Industry Data Say?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(5), pages 1559-1576, December.
    18. Bougheas, Spiros & Demetriades, Panicos O. & Morgenroth, Edgar L. W., 1999. "Infrastructure, transport costs and trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 169-189, February.
    19. Katz, Michael L & Shapiro, Carl, 1985. "Network Externalities, Competition, and Compatibility," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(3), pages 424-440, June.
    20. Marie M. Stack, 2009. "Regional Integration and Trade: Controlling for Varying Degrees of Heterogeneity in the Gravity Model," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(5), pages 772-789, May.
    21. Baltagi, Badi H. & Egger, Peter & Pfaffermayr, Michael, 2003. "A generalized design for bilateral trade flow models," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 80(3), pages 391-397, September.
    22. Michele Fratianni & Chang Hoon Oh, 2009. "Expanding RTAs, trade flows, and the multinational enterprise," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(7), pages 1206-1227, September.
    23. Piermartini, Roberta & Teh, Robert, 2005. "Demystifying modelling methods for trade policy," WTO Discussion Papers 10, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    24. Baier, Scott L. & Bergstrand, Jeffrey H., 2007. "Do free trade agreements actually increase members' international trade?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 72-95, March.
    25. Shane M. Greenstein & Pablo T. Spiller, 1996. "Estimating the Welfare Effects of Digital Infrastructure," NBER Working Papers 5770, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    26. Limao, Nuno & Venables, Anthony J., 1999. "Infrastructure, geographical disadvantage, and transport costs," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2257, The World Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm & Iyer, Harish, 2018. "Does bridging the Internet Access Divide contribute to enhancing countries' integration into the global trade in services markets?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 61-77.
    2. Abeliansky, Ana L. & Hilbert, Martin, 2017. "Digital technology and international trade: Is it the quantity of subscriptions or the quality of data speed that matters?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 35-48.
    3. Boniface Ngah Epo & Ronie Bertrand Nguenkwe, 2020. "Information and Communication Technology and Intra-Regional Trade in the Economic Community of West African States: Ambivalent or Complementary?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(2), pages 1397-1412.
    4. Jonathan Timmis, 2012. "The Internet and International Trade in Goods," Discussion Papers 12/08, University of Nottingham, GEP.
    5. Burcu Ozcan, 2018. "Information and communications technology (ICT) and international trade: evidence from Turkey," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 8(1), pages 93-113, April.
    6. Ibitoye J. Oyebanji & Dayo B. Olanipekun & Ewert P. J. Kleynhans, 2022. "The Potential of Information and Communication Technologies to Generate International Trade in Africa," Managing Global Transitions, University of Primorska, Faculty of Management Koper, vol. 20(3 (Fall)), pages 237-257.
    7. Nath, Hiranya K. & Liu, Lirong, 2017. "Information and communications technology (ICT) and services trade," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 81-87.
    8. Evgeniya Yushkova, 2014. "Impact of ICT on trade in different technology groups: analysis and implications," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 165-177, February.
    9. Burcu Ozcan & Hiranya Nath, 2016. "Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and International Trade: Evidence from Turkey," Working Papers 1609, Sam Houston State University, Department of Economics and International Business.
    10. Jonathan Timmis, 2012. "The Internet and International Trade in Goods," Discussion Papers 12/03, University of Nottingham, School of Economics.
    11. Mahdi Ghodsi, 2021. "Impact of Technical Barriers to Trade on the Trade in Goods in the Information and Communications Technology Sector: Differentiating by Aim of the Regulatory Measure," wiiw Working Papers 208, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.

    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. Marie M. Stack & Martin Bliss, 2020. "EU economic integration agreements, Brexit and trade," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 156(3), pages 443-473, August.
    2. Michele Fratianni & Francesco Marchionne, 2011. "The Limits to Integration," Chapters, in: Miroslav N. Jovanović (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Integration, Volume I, chapter 9, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Eicher, Theo S. & Henn, Christian, 2011. "In search of WTO trade effects: Preferential trade agreements promote trade strongly, but unevenly," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 137-153, March.
    4. P. Montalbano & S. Nenci, 2014. "Assessing the trade impact of the European Neighbourhood Policy on the EU-MED Free Trade Area," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(7), pages 730-740, March.
    5. Nina Czernich, 2011. "The emergence of broadband internet and consequences for economic and social development," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 37.
    6. Salvador Gil-Pareja & Rafael Llorca-Vivero & José Antonio Martínez-Serrano, 2017. "The effect of nonreciprocal preferential trade agreements on benefactors’ exports," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 143-154, February.
    7. Neil Foster, 2012. "Preferential Trade Agreements and the Margins of Imports," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 869-889, November.
    8. Faqin Lin, 2015. "Estimating the effect of the Internet on international trade," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 409-428, April.
    9. Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada & Felicitas, Nowak-Lehmann D. & Horsewood, Nicholas, 2009. "Are regional trading agreements beneficial?: Static and dynamic panel gravity models," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 46-65, March.
    10. Marie M Stack & Rob Ackrill & Martin Bliss, 2019. "Sugar trade and the role of historical colonial linkages," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 46(1), pages 79-108.
    11. Valeria Costantini & Francesco Crespi, 2015. "European enlargement policy, technological capabilities and sectoral export dynamics," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 25-69, February.
    12. Joël Cariolle & Michele Imbruno & Jaime de Melo, 2020. "Bilateral digital connectivity and firm participation in export markets," Working Papers hal-03182438, HAL.
    13. Cardamone, Paola, 2007. "A Survey of the Assessments of the Effectiveness of Preferential Trade Agreements using Gravity Models," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 60(4), pages 421-473.
    14. A Salim, Ruhu & Mahfuz Kabir, Mohammad, 2011. "Does More Trade Potential Remain in Arab States of the Gulf ?," Journal of Economic Integration, Center for Economic Integration, Sejong University, vol. 26, pages 217-243.
    15. Rod Falvey & Neil Foster-McGregor, 2022. "The breadth of preferential trade agreements and the margins of exports," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 158(1), pages 181-251, February.
    16. Theo S. Eicher & Christian Henn, 2011. "One Money, One Market: A Revised Benchmark," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(3), pages 419-435, August.
    17. Martin Clever & Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso, 2010. "Deeper Integration: What Effects On Trade," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 204, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research.
    18. Michele Imbruno & Joel Cariolle & Jaime de Melo, 2022. "Digital connectivity and firm participation in foreign markets: An exporter-based bilateral analysis," Discussion Papers 2022-02, University of Nottingham, GEP.
    19. Rebecca Freeman & Samuel Pienknagura, 2019. "Are all trade agreements equal? The role of distance in shaping the effect of economic integration agreements on trade flows," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 155(2), pages 257-285, May.
    20. Tayebeh Farahani & Reza Parvardeh, 2012. "The Impact of ICT on Trade in Persian Gulf Countries," Iranian Economic Review (IER), Faculty of Economics,University of Tehran.Tehran,Iran, vol. 17(2), pages 63-73, spring.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Exports; ICT; gravity model; international trade; network effects;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F1 - International Economics - - Trade
    • D2 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:diw:diwwpp:dp1182. 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: Bibliothek (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/diwbede.html .

    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.