In the analysis of bilateral trade flows, reported trade of zero or missing observations are quite common and this is a problem when estimating log-linear gravity equations. This has caused many researchers to either ignore the zero trade flows or to replace the zero with a small positive...

and this is a problem when estimating log-linear gravity equations. This has caused many researchers to either ignore the zero trade flows or to replace the zero with a small positive number. Both of these actions bias the resulting parameter estimates of the gravity equation. In this study we...

When analyzing bilateral trade flow data, zero trade flows are quite common and problematic when a gravity equation is estimated with a log-linear functional form. This has caused many researchers to either ignore the zero trade flows or to replace zero with a small positive number. Both of...