Abstract:

The potential of international trade of cultural products in fostering economic growth has been neglected in the empirical economics literature. The study explores the relationship between international trade of cultural products and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in 85 countries between 2004-2017 using the Pedroni cointegration test and Swamy (1970)’s random coefficient model. The results show that although the trade balance of cultural products does not affect economic growth, the volume of international trade in cultural products has a statistically significant and positive impact on GDP per capita. These findings indicate that policymakers should not require protective steps against the imports of cultural goods or services and the call of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions to developed economies to open their markets is an appropriate suggestion.

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