Trade Flows of Bangladesh: A Gravity Model Approach

This study gives an overview of different methodologies related to gravity model analysis in Bangladesh trade flow. A pooled cross section and time series data were analyzed to incorporate the country specific heterogeneity in country pair trading partners. The trade flows are justified by the basic gravity model since Bangladesh trade is positively significant by the economy size and inversely related to trade barrier. Accordingly, pooled ordinary least square, fixed effect and random effect methods are implied. This study also explores extended gravity model that depicts trade is determined by the gross domestic product, openness of the economy and exchange rate. In addition, cross section results show that regional trade arrangement which is South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation and border are significant for Bangladesh trade.