In international economics, it’s good to be good. According to new research published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, perceptions of a nation’s positive or negative influence in the world are directly correlated with its sales to other nations. According to the study’s author Andrew Rose of the University of California-Berkeley, "Countries tend to do well by doing good."
As reported by Washington Monthly, Rose’s study correlated export data from the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization with a broadly used measure of global public opinion developed in part by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland. Rose determined that for every one percent net increase in a nation’s perceived positive influence, exports rise by nearly one percent.
Consumer preferences may help drive these results. Rose’s research finds that nations such as Iran and Pakistan end up exporting less than they otherwise would. The United States, however, has been gaining in terms of its international reputation, and that has helped fuel exports. Three nations stand out in terms of their more positive perceptions of America – France, Brazil and Mexico.
