Internet Penetration and Trade Patterns: Sectoral Effects and Informational Barriers

Internet Penetration and Trade Patterns: Sectoral Effects and Informational Barriers | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Internet Penetration and Trade Patterns: Sectoral Effects and Informational Barriers Caio Cezar Fernandes, Admir Antonio Betarelli, Weslem Rodrigues Faria This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7411101/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study examines the effect of Internet expansion on international trade flows for 53 developed and emerging economies between 2000 and 2016. A structural gravity model estimated via Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood is employed to assess both aggregate and sectoral trade impacts. The empirical strategy incorporates a continuous measure of linguistic distance, which captures degrees of dissimilarity between national languages, offering a reference for informational frictions than conventional binary indicators. The main findings show that broadband penetration is positively associated with trade flows, with heterogeneous effects across sectors. While the aggregate impact is relatively modest—a doubling in broadband subscriptions is associated with a 0.7% increase in total trade—stronger effects are observed in the primary sector (5.3%) and in energy and mining (7.1%). Manufacturing responds positively, though with smaller elasticities, possibly due to its greater capacity to internalize digital technologies. Linguistic distance is found to significantly reduce trade in standardized goods, underscoring how non-physical barriers interact with digital infrastructure. These results suggest that expanding broadband access, when combined with targeted measures to reduce informational and communicative frictions, may support more inclusive trade integration and enable export diversification in economies with limited digital or linguistic connectivity. Classification codes : F00; F10; F14; F19. Internet International trade Gravitational model Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7411101","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":503173706,"identity":"87b270b0-1ddd-4673-aa0d-4e0e162f3c4e","order_by":0,"name":"Caio Cezar Fernandes","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Banco Santander Brasil","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Caio","middleName":"Cezar","lastName":"Fernandes","suffix":""},{"id":503173707,"identity":"40c62227-050a-405d-8b6f-e104518701bf","order_by":1,"name":"Admir Antonio Betarelli","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFCCBIYDDCAEAg8KJOQYmA8kfGBsIEILD5htIGHMwJaQOIOQFgYkLQyJDWwJjHi18LdnJx6uYLgjZ89+9uGDBAOL9A3HGB42MO64h1OLxJm3Gw6eYXhmzMOTbmwAdFguUEtiA+OZYtzW3MjdcLCB4XBiD0MamwRYy/2G9AeMbQk4dchDtdT38D9j/wHUkm4AtgWPFgOolgQeiTQ2UIglENRiCPJLg8Ezw54bz5hBDjOcCdKSeAa3FrnjuZs/NlTckWfvT2P88KGiTp7vGE9iw8cduLVAnYfC40lgIKQBHbAfIFHDKBgFo2AUDHMAALR1XpBRHbTWAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), José Lourenço, Juiz de Fora – MG","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Admir","middleName":"Antonio","lastName":"Betarelli","suffix":""},{"id":503173708,"identity":"49abd434-ed12-4121-99b7-24d1159b51bc","order_by":2,"name":"Weslem Rodrigues Faria","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Weslem","middleName":"Rodrigues","lastName":"Faria","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-08-19 18:23:09","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7411101/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7411101/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":89880424,"identity":"c23a4bfa-d1fb-481c-bfc8-d2f1281c39d9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-26 05:40:23","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":433914,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscriptwithoutauthordetailsnew4.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7411101/v1_covered_31df373d-d7f5-42f3-aecb-014d690158a7.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Internet Penetration and Trade Patterns: Sectoral Effects and Informational Barriers","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Internet, International trade, Gravitational model","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7411101/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7411101/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study examines the effect of Internet expansion on international trade flows for 53 developed and emerging economies between 2000 and 2016. 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