Are We Shipping Farther?The Global Distance Pattern of Export and Import Freight Trip

Abstract

This paper is to construct trade distance pattern of freight trip through years and answer the question “Are we shipping farther?” by evaluating the trade distance per thousand US dollars globally We construct spatial econometrics models for export and import distance per thousand US dollars We assume the degree of vulnerability to trades affects the export and import distance per thousand US dollars of a country The models are constructed based on a panel data form with 201 countries from 2001 to 2017 The result suggests that trade distance per thousand US dollars of each country has generally increased and the changes in them depend on the shiftings in trades partners and values of products In respect of export a country excludes the customers that are too far from it when it becomes less dependent on exports which make export distance per thousand US dollars become lesser In respect of import most of the major importer around the world can make profits from their own industries hence they are less vulnerable to imports and have greater purchasing power which also means having greater import distance per thousand US dollars To the relationship between a country and its neighbor countries most of the exporters prone to sell expensive products to all of the countries around the world when their neighbors become more dependent on trades; a country tend to start trading with the countries far from it when its neighbor countries become less vulnerable on trades

Date of Award	2019
Original language	English
Supervisor	Pei-Chun Lin (Supervisor)