School of International Business, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, China.
School of Finance and Management, Sichuan University of Arts and Science, Dazhou, China.
PLoS One. 2024 Aug 15;19(8):e0307914. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0307914. eCollection 2024.
This study investigates the impact of a minority language on international trade. Using the distance to Hunchun as an instrumental variable, and transaction-level customs data from 2000 to 2015, we investigate the causal impact of common Korean language on international trade between Chinese counties and South/North Korea. The results suggest that a 1% increase in the proportion of population speaking Korean will increase value share and transactions share in trade by 1.8% and 2.3%, respectively. These effects are more pronounced in trade with North Korea and in higher trade share regions. Furthermore, we show that the common Korean language exerts its influence through reducing communication barrier. The impact is mainly observed at the extensive margin rather than the intensive margin. These findings highlight the potential of leveraging minority languages to boost bilateral trade in developing countries.
本研究考察了少数民族语言对国际贸易的影响。利用珲春距离作为工具变量，利用 2000 年至 2015 年的交易层面海关数据，我们研究了通用韩语对中国与南/北韩之间县际贸易的因果影响。结果表明，韩语人口比例每增加 1%，贸易中的价值份额和交易份额将分别增加 1.8%和 2.3%。这些影响在与朝鲜的贸易以及贸易份额较高的地区更为明显。此外，我们还表明，通用韩语通过降低沟通障碍发挥作用。这种影响主要表现在扩展边际，而不是集约边际。这些发现强调了利用少数民族语言促进发展中国家双边贸易的潜力。
