East Asian Trade Flows of Cultural Goods: A Gravity Model Approach

With the market evaluation of economic globalization exchanges between different cultures, cultural trade has been developing at an accelerated speed, and also playing an important role in East Asian intra-regional trade. In this research the author used gravity trade model to explain the causal relationship between dependent variable trade flows and several independent variables applying with five categories cultural goods which classified in HS codes. Firstly for cultural heritage trade flow, the results indicated that economic masses of bilateral countries have no significant influences on it; GDP per capita of host country and adjacency factor with partner country have significant negative influences on it; Internet coverage ratio has improved cultural heritages exchanges in East Asian regions. Secondly for printed matter cultural goods trade flow, the distance factor has significant negative influence but common language has significant positive influence on it. Thirdly for recorded media cultural goods, only economic masses and GDP per capita of bilateral countries can improved their trade flows. Fourthly for visual arts cultural products trade flows, almost all variables we tested have significant influences on it. Fifthly for cinema photography cultural goods trade flow, the influenced factor are same with cultural heritage products except they have strong positive interaction relationship with economic masses and common language. At last, the paper figured out some important and potential sectors for cultural goods trade in East Asia and gave some suggestions to government and cultural goods product enterprises.