Wpływ rozwoju społecznego na wielkość wymiany handlowej krajów Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej

In this paper we study the role of social factors in development of international trade using a generalized gravity model. In existing studies of determinants of bilateral trade flows only economic factors were taken into account such as their economic size, factor endowments and technology levels as well as tariff and non-tariff barriers and distance between them. Our contribution to the literature lies in extending the previous studies to include also factors measuring the level of development and social inequalities as well as civil liberties. In particular, we study the role of the aggregate index of social development - HDI and its components as well as income inequality and civil liberties.