The Korean Economic Review
Cultural Barriers in International Trade and the Protection and Promotion of Culture
Jaeok Park (Yonsei University)Year 2015Vol. 31No. 2
Abstract
I present a model of international trade with cultural barriers and cultural learning.There are two countries that can produce a manufacturing good and cultural goods and cantrade with each other. Due to cultural difference, consumers in a country have difficulty inappreciating cultural goods produced in the other country, which creates cultural barriers,and consumers can overcome these barriers by investing in cultural learning. I first studytrade equilibrium given cultural barriers in the two countries, and then I analyze decisionson cultural learning under three different scenarios and compare them. Based on theanalysis, I provide economic explanations for countries’ policies to protect and promote theirown cultures at home and abroad.