How Does UNESCO's Convention on Cultural Diversity Affect Trade in Cultural Goods?

The role of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)'s Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (or the Convention on Cultural Diversity (CCD) for short) has been debated by both experts in international trade law and economists. However, the empirical study presented herein is the first in this body of the literature to investigate the relationship between the CCD and trade in cultural goods. By using trade data for 2004-2010 and employing the first-differenced difference-in-differences method, we seek to clarify its relation with trade in cultural goods by conducting a medium-term assessment. Our estimation results provide no evidence that the CCD works as an instrument of disguised protectionism. Further, we find that CCD contracting countries tend to have increased the extensive margins of cultural imports for some subcategories of cultural goods more than CCD non-contracting countries. This implies that the CCD has contributed to the promotion of cultural diversity.