State Visits and International Trade

29 Pages Posted: 26 Nov 2005

See all articles by Volker Nitsch

Volker Nitsch

Technical University of Darmstadt - Department of Law and Economics; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research)

Date Written: November 2005

Abstract

Politicians travel extensively abroad, for various reasons. One purpose of external visits is to improve bilateral economic relations. In this paper, I examine the effect of state visits on international trade. I use a large data set covering the travel activities of the heads of state of France, Germany and the United States between 1948 and 2003. My results indicate that state and official visits are indeed positively correlated with exports. A typical visit is associated with higher bilateral exports by about 8 to 10 percent, holding other things constant.

Keywords: head, president, government, politics, gravity

JEL Classification: F13

Suggested Citation

Nitsch, Volker, State Visits and International Trade (November 2005). CESifo Working Paper Series No. 1582, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=854867 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.854867

Volker Nitsch (Contact Author)

Technical University of Darmstadt - Department of Law and Economics ( email )

Marktplatz 15
Residenzschloss
Darmstadt, 64283
Germany

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

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