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Who sends me face masks? Evidence for the impacts of COVID-19 on international trade in medical goods

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  • Hayakawa, Kazunobu
  • Imai, Kohei

Abstract

This study empirically investigates what kinds of countries imported and exported medical products during the COVID-19 pandemic. To that end, we examine the bilateral trade values of medical products traded among 35 reporting countries and 250 partner countries between January and August in both 2019 and 2020. Specifically, we shed light on four kinds of bilateral linkages, including political ties (captured by voting similarity in the United Nations), economic ties (existence of regional trade agreements), demographic ties (numbers of migrants), and geographic ties (geographical distance). Our findings can be summarized as follows. An increase in COVID-19 burden leads to decreases in exports of medical products. However, such a decrease is smaller when exporting to countries with closer political, economic, or geographical ties. In contrast, demographic ties play a key role in the import of personal protective products. Immigrants receive face masks from relatives in their home country when the immigrant’s country of residence is strongly impacted by COVID-19.

Suggested Citation

  • Hayakawa, Kazunobu & Imai, Kohei, 2021. "Who sends me face masks? Evidence for the impacts of COVID-19 on international trade in medical goods," IDE Discussion Papers 810, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    • Handle: RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper810
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    Cited by:

    1. Guglielmo Maria Caporale & Anamaria Diana Sova & Robert Sova, 2024. "The Covid‐19 pandemic and European trade flows: Evidence from a dynamic panel model," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(3), pages 2563-2580, July.
    2. Medini, Amal & Ben abderrahmen, Chaima & Baghdadi, Leila, 2022. "Impact of COVID-19 on Tunisian imports," Conference papers 333440, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    3. Rahul Sen & Sanchita Basu Das, 2024. "Did economic cooperation encourage trade in essential medical goods? Empirical evidence from the Asia–Pacific during COVID‐19," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 38(1), pages 35-60, March.
    4. Amjad Masood & Junaid Ahmed & Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso, 2022. "Gravity of Covid-19," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 42(1), pages 60-68.
      • Masood, Amjad & Ahmed, Junaid & Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada, 2021. "Gravity of Covid-19," MPRA Paper 109651, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Das, Sanchita Basu & Sen, Rahul, 2022. "Trade Interdependencies in COVID-19-Related Essential Medical Goods: Role of Trade Facilitation and Cooperation for the Asian Economies," ADB Economics Working Paper Series 666, Asian Development Bank.
    6. Sangeeta Khorana & Inmaculada Martínez‐Zarzoso & Salamat Ali, 2023. "An anatomy of the impact of COVID‐19 on the global and intra‐Commonwealth trade in goods," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 550-579, May.
    7. Orhan Cengiz & Müge Manga, 2022. "Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on exports: new evidence from selected European Union countries and Turkey," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 1195-1219, October.
    8. Semanur Soyyiğit & Ercan Eren, 2022. "Global supply and demand of medical goods in the fight against Covid-19: a network analysis," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 1221-1247, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; International trade; Medical goods;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • F53 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Agreements and Observance; International Organizations

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