Do data policy restrictions inhibit trade in services?

Erik Marel () and Martina Francesca Ferracane ()
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Erik Marel: ECIPE, Université Libre de Bruxelles & ECARES
Martina Francesca Ferracane: European University Institute (EUI)

Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), 2021, vol. 157, issue 4, No 2, 727-776

Abstract: Abstract This paper examines whether restrictive data policies are related to trade in services. The authors have collected comparable information on a variety of policy measures that regulate data for a wide group of countries for the years 2006–2016. This information is compiled in a weighted index that assesses the restrictiveness of these countries’ data policies. They distinguish between policies regulating the cross-border movement of data and policies regulating the domestic use of data. Using econometric estimations, they show that strict data policies are negatively and significantly associated with imports of data-intense services. Therefore, countries applying restrictive data policies, in particular with respect to the cross-border flow of data, are likely to suffer from lower levels of services traded cross-border. The results of this analysis are significant and hold for various robustness checks.

Keywords: Trade; Services; Data flows; Digital technology; Regulations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F14 F23 F68 O30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10290-021-00417-2

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