Trade Accords Among Regions, Cultural Stipulations, and Commerce of Cultural Artifacts
A new study, published as a Creative PEC Discussion Paper, has revealed that Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) significantly increase bilateral cultural trade among member states. The research, titled "Regional Trade Agreements, Cultural Provisions and Trade in Cultural Goods," was authored by Muharrem Cevik from Bilecik Seyh Edebali University, Giorgio Fazio and Sara Maioli from Newcastle University.
The study utilised gravity models to analyse the impact of RTAs and their depth on the bilateral trade of cultural goods from 1999 to 2019. The findings suggest that RTAs, particularly those with legally enforceable provisions for Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), Audio-Visual (AV) content, and Cultural Cooperation (CC), increase trade more than RTAs that do not.
The study observed the most significant impacts in the cultural heritage and visual arts sub-groups. RTAs with legally enforceable AV and CC provisions have a substantially positive impact on overall cultural trade and on trade in specific goods within the audio & audio-visual media sub-group, such as films and video games. RTAs with legally enforceable IPR provisions significantly boost overall bilateral cultural trade, particularly benefiting the trade in cultural heritage, music & performing arts, and audio & audio-visual media goods.
Furthermore, the study found that the impact of these culture-specific provisions is contingent upon their legal enforceability. The study also noted that RTAs exhibit phasing-in effects, leading to significant trade increases in cultural heritage, visual arts, and printed matter sub-categories twelve years after an RTA formation.
The views and interpretations expressed in the Creative PEC Discussion Papers are solely those of the authors and not shared by Creative PEC, its staff, Newcastle University, the RSA, or the AHRC. The papers are subject to editorial discretion.
Dr Sara Maioli is a Reader in Economics at Newcastle University Business School, while Dr Muharrem Cevik is a Lecturer at Bilecik Seyh Edebali University. Professor Giorgio Fazio is the Research Director of Creative PEC and Chair of Macroeconomics at Newcastle University Business School.
The study's findings underscore the importance of RTAs in promoting not only traditional goods and services trade but also in enhancing trade in cultural goods and services between participating countries. The use of gravity models to quantify these effects, accounting for economic size, distance, and cultural factors, has proven effective in the analysis of the impact of RTAs on cultural trade.
The trend of RTAs boosting cultural trade has been observable and growing from 1999 to 2019, with continued evidence through 2025 research. This suggests a continuing and growing trend over the studied period where RTAs have increasingly factored in culture-specific rules that jointly enhance trade flows in cultural goods and services.
[1] Reference(s) omitted for brevity.
- The study, published as a Creative PEC Discussion Paper, highlights the significant increase in bilateral cultural trade among member states due to Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs).
- The research, entitled "Regional Trade Agreements, Cultural Provisions and Trade in Cultural Goods," was authored by Muharrem Cevik from Bilecik Seyh Edebali University, Giorgio Fazio and Sara Maioli from Newcastle University.
- Gravity models were used to analyze the impact of RTAs and their depth on the bilateral trade of cultural goods from 1999 to 2019, with results showing that RTAs, especially those with enforceable Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), Audio-Visual (AV) content, and Cultural Cooperation (CC) provisions, have a more pronounced effect on cultural trade.
- The study found that cultural heritage and visual arts sub-groups experienced the most significant impacts, with RTAs increasing trade in specific goods such as films and video games within the audio & audio-visual media sub-group, and significantly boosting trade in cultural heritage, music & performing arts, and audio & audio-visual media goods with enforceable IPR provisions.
- The study's findings indicate that the impact of culture-specific provisions is contingent upon their legal enforceability and that RTAs exhibit phasing-in effects, leading to significant trade increases in cultural heritage, visual arts, and printed matter sub-categories twelve years after an RTA formation.
- The study's conclusions emphasize the role of RTAs in promoting not only traditional goods and services trade but also cultural trade, and the effective use of gravity models in analyzing the impact of RTAs on cultural trade. The trend of RTAs boosting cultural trade continues to be observable and growing from 1999 to 2019, with continued evidence through 2025 research.
