Assessment of the Trade Integration Pattern Between the Russian Federation and East/Southeast Asian Economies Using the Panel Gravity Framework

Abstract

This study is the first attempt to investigate the patterns of imports and exports between the Russian Federation and East/Southeast Asian economies, namely, the People's Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Macau, China; Japan; the Republic of Korea; Mongolia; Cambodia; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Brunei; Indonesia; Malaysia; Myanmar; the Philippines; Singapore; Thailand; and Vietnam. To this end, a panel gravity trade model with series from 2001 to 2017 is provided to estimate the gravity variables in our models. The results reveal that GDP and income are more important in the export pattern from the Russian Federation to the East Asian region, meaning that the economic size and the income of the population in East Asian economies are more important in this pattern than other variables. Moreover, Russia's export pattern with the East Asian region follows the Heckscher–Ohlin hypothesis, while Russia's import pattern with this region is in line with the Linder hypothesis.