Examining the distance puzzle in the global coffee trade

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17811/ebl.14.2.2025.88-94

Keywords:

Gravity Model, coffee, transporation costs, distance

Abstract

We examine whether the impact of transportation costs originating from physical distance in the global coffee trade does not decrease over time (i.e., “the distance puzzle”) by applying a gravity model from 2009 to 2019. We also consider the effect of cultural distance stemming from colonial dependency, common colonizer, and common language. Our results reveal that transportation costs are initially stable but show a negative trend in the long run, particularly post-2015. Moreover, colonial dependency and common colonizers significantly increased the coffee trade.

References

Abafita, J., and Tadesse, T. (2021). Determinants of global coffee trade: Do RTAs matter? Gravity model analysis. Cogent Economics & Finance, 9(1), 1892925.

Anderson, J.E., and Van Wincoop, E. (2003). Gravity with gravitas: A solution to the border puzzle. American Economic Review, 93(1), 170-192.

Disdier, A.C., and Head, K. (2008). The puzzling persistence of the distance effect on bilateral trade. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 90(1), 37-48.

Hummels, D. (2007). Transportation costs and international trade in the second era of globalization. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21(3), 131-154.

Mussatto, S.I., Machado, E.M., Martins, S., and Teixeira, J.A. (2011). Production, composition, and application of coffee and its industrial residues. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 4, 661-672.

Ramsey, J.B. (1969). Tests for specification errors in classical linear least-squares regression analysis. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B: Statistical Methodology, 31(2), 350-371.

Silva, J.S., and Tenreyro, S. (2006). The log of gravity. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 88(4), 641-658.

World Trade Organization (2013, April 10). Trade to remain subdued in 2013 after sluggish growth in 2012 as European economies continue to struggle [Press Release], available at

https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres13_e/pr688_e.pdf

World Trade Organization (2016). World Trade Statistical Review 2016, available at

https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/wts2016_e/wts2016_e.pdf

Yotov, Y.V. (2012). A simple solution to the distance puzzle in international trade. Economics Letters, 117(3), 794-798.

Yotov, Y.V., Piermartini, R., and Larch, M. (2016). An advanced guide to trade policy analysis: The structural gravity model. WTO iLibrary.

Downloads

Published

28-04-2025

How to Cite

Rezitis, A., Zangelidis, L., & Karytsas, S. (2025). Examining the distance puzzle in the global coffee trade . Economics and Business Letters, 14(2), 88–94. https://doi.org/10.17811/ebl.14.2.2025.88-94

Issue

Section

Articles