Evaluating The Determinants Of International Trade: Case Study Of CIS Countries

Abstract

In this paper we mainly concentrate on analysis of the determinants of international trade in CIS countries. Specifically, as a result of globalization, which enables free flow of goods and services along with labor and capital, international trade has been becoming one of the main drivers of economic development especially in emerging countries. According to the results of the study it is possible to emphasize that tariff rates, as expected, have more significant effect on international trade compared to exchange rates. Besides, we also included variables of agricultural sector due to the fact that most of the CIS countries mainly export agricultural products. Interestingly, share of arable lands in total surface along with employment in agricultural sector revealed to have significant and positive impact on both exports and imports. In particular, imports are highly influenced by share of arable lands compared to exports. Moreover, employment in industry and services highly effect on imports. This study provides policy recommendations with respect to strategic development of international trade in the region.