This paper studies the intangible costs of international trade by extending the basic gravity equation with measures of cultural and institutional distance, and institutional quality. Analyzing a sample of bilateral trade flows between 92 countries in 1999, we find that institutional distance...

This paper provides the first systematic attempt to measure cultural diversity at national and subnational levels. Our measure reflects the degree to which values and beliefs are shared in society and captures a dimension of diversity not previously discussed. We assess the importance of...