Lost in Translation: The Language Barrier to Trade

Kiran Manthry, University of Cambridge
Volume 1 nos.1 December 2022 ISSN 2755-3272

Keywords

Language Barrier, Physical and Linguistic Distance, OLS estimation, Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood Estimation

Abstract

This dissertation decomposes bilateral trade flows of goods and services into the effects of physical and linguistic distance. I employ a standard OLS estimation alongside a Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) Estimation to deal with specification issues and arrive at the novel result that while the linguistic effect on services is far stronger than that on goods, physical distance hinders trade in goods more than in services. Data is collected from a variety of sources including the OECD BATIS and BTDxE series.