Does the G7/G8 promote trade?

The Group of Eight (G8) is an unofficial forum of the heads of state of the eight leading industrialized countries. In this paper, I examine the effect of the G8 (and its predecessor, the G7) on international trade. I use a gravity model of trade; the panel data set covers bilateral trade between 175 countries from 1948 through 1999. I find that membership in the G7/G8 is consistently associated with a strong positive effect on trade. -- institution ; organization ; agreement ; international ; multilateral ; summit