Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • March 2021
  • Article
  • Journal of International Economics

International Trade and Social Connectedness

By: Michael Bailey, Abhinav Gupta, Sebastian Hillenbrand, Theresa Kuchler, Robert J. Richmond and Johannes Stroebel
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

We use de-identified data from Facebook to construct a new and publicly available measure of the pairwise social connectedness between 170 countries and 332 European regions. We find that two countries trade more when they are more socially connected, especially for goods where information frictions may be large. The social connections that predict trade in specific products are those between the regions where the product is produced in the exporting country and the regions where it is used in the importing country. Once we control for social connectedness, the estimated effects of geographic distance and country borders on trade decline substantially.

Keywords

Social Connections; International Trade; Trade; Social Media

Citation

Bailey, Michael, Abhinav Gupta, Sebastian Hillenbrand, Theresa Kuchler, Robert J. Richmond, and Johannes Stroebel. "International Trade and Social Connectedness." Journal of International Economics 129 (March 2021).
  • SSRN
  • Find it at Harvard

About The Author

Sebastian Hillenbrand

Finance
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • May 2024 (Revised February 2025)
    • Faculty Research

    Cost of Capital at DraftKings

    By: Malcolm Baker and Sebastian Hillenbrand
    • 2024
    • Faculty Research

    Valuing Stocks With Earnings

    By: Sebastian Hillenbrand and Odhrain McCarthy
    • 2023
    • Faculty Research

    The Optimal Stock Valuation Ratio

    By: Sebastian Hillenbrand and Odhrain McCarthy
More from the Authors
  • Cost of Capital at DraftKings By: Malcolm Baker and Sebastian Hillenbrand
  • Valuing Stocks With Earnings By: Sebastian Hillenbrand and Odhrain McCarthy
  • The Optimal Stock Valuation Ratio By: Sebastian Hillenbrand and Odhrain McCarthy
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College.