The Border Effect in the Japanese Market: Gravity Model Analysis

This paper analyzes the border effect, which indicates how biased interregional trade is, compared with international trade, by means of the Gravity Model. The border effect reveals how open to the foreign countries the nation is. This research suggests that the border effect in Japan is much lower than that of the US and Canada, and has declined year by year. Furthermore, in 1990, the border effect faded out. These trends may be reflected by international incidents such as the surge of the foreign direct investment to Asian countries and the decline of tariff rate.