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Cross-border trade with the help of RTAs works as the backbone for the growth of member nations. SAFTA'S intra-trade increased from 5.1 percent in 1995 and reached at 6.8 percent in 2014. It is too low as compared to European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (UNCTAD, 2015). In context of this, it has become important to study bilateral trade performance between India and Pakistan.

Abstract.  In this paper we present a monopolistic competition model that incorporates asymmetric trade barriers and international differences in production costs. The model implies a highly non‐linear bilateral trade equation. Estimation of this equation yields parameters for the elasticity of substitution and trade costs that are more reasonable than those found in previous studies. A simulation indicates that trade liberalization will shift trade from rich countries to poor countries and from within continental trading partners with preferential trade agreements to intercontinental trading partners. JEL Classification: F1

This paper explores the effects of religion and Islamic sects on bilateral trade activities by employing an extended version of the gravity model. A stratified sample of 33 countries for the average period 1996-99 is selected. Although gravity models have been extensively used in the literature, to the best of our knowledge, they have neither been used to examine the impact of Islamic sects on bilateral trade nor to estimate religion within a model that incorporates oil-exporting countries, culture, regional trading arrangements, and political freedomessential control variables for the specification of the model. Findings reveal that Muslim majority countries trade less than their Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, or other counterparts. In addition, when disaggregating the Muslim sample into Sunni and Shia sects, results show that Sunni majority countries trade more than their Shiite counterparts. Other results and policy implications are discussed.

International trade flows of cultural goods have grown rapidly over the last decades and their liberalization will be an important issue of future multilateral trade negotiations. In this paper, we focus on bilateral trade in cultural goods and investigate its determinants. Furthermore, we use trade in cultural goods as a proxy for countries' cultural proximity and study if countries with proximate cultural tastes have more intense bilateral exchanges. Our estimations show a positive and significant influence of cultural flows on overall trade, suggesting that regulations fostering domestic cultural creation might have impacts going beyond what is generally expected.

Introduction. During the years of Ukrainian independence, China has risen from a relatively insignificant country in Asia to the biggest trade partner of Ukraine surpassing even Russia and other post-Soviet republics both in amount and the importance of bilateral trade. To fully understand the current dynamics of bilateral trade between Ukraine and China, it is necessary to explore the history of these relations from ancient times to the current stage to improve the strategy for cooperation between Ukraine and China. Purpose. To study the history of bilateral trade relations of Ukraine and China from first diplomatic contacts to contemporary relations, to identify patterns and trends that affect the dynamics of trade, to outline mistakes and shortcomings of Ukrainian diplomacy, and to provide recommendations for improvement. Result. The revealed pattern of diplomatic and trade relations between Ukraine and China may be considered as an indicator s that China has been viewing Ukraine as a political entity even before the declaration of independence in 1991. International relations between Ukraine and China have a deep and strong historical tradition with a wide range of forms and methods of cooperation in the fields of politics, economics, and culture. Conclusions. The revealed dynamics of bilateral trade prove that the negative trends in trade between Ukraine and China are not always related to the competitiveness of the Ukrainian economy or global market conditions and may have resulted from the mistakes and failures of Ukrainian diplomacy. To prevent these mistakes in the future, it is necessary to have qualified specialists trained to work with China and conduct effective negotiations at the highest level and monitor their correct coverage in the official documents and press.