The Impact of Distance on U.S. Agricultural Exports: An Econometric Analysis

008087252000PDFProceedingsGravity modelsExportsCost estimatingAgricultural productsEconomic analysisFood industryShippingDistanceEconomicsFreight TransportationHighwaysMarine TransportationSocietyI10: Economics and AdministrationUnited StatesUnited States. Department of Agriculture. Economic Research ServiceWang, ZhiCoyle, William T.Gehlhar, MarkVollrath, TomEconomic Research Service Reference Center (U.S.)US Transportation CollectionAgricultural economists have long examined the role of distance in marketing agricultural products. They have identified three types of costs in shipping: physical shipping costs, time related costs, and the costs of unfamiliarity. The removal or reduction of these costs would have an impact on trade similar to the impact of the removal or reduction of a tariff. This study represents an attempt to estimate the effects of distance on U.S. exports of specific food and agricultural commodities by using a simple gravity model and pooling cross section and time series data.75