What are the major determinants of China’s meat exports flows? In addressing this question, we propose a commodity-specific gravity model. This study has employed a unique dataset of 20 years (1997–2016) for China’s pork exports flows to its 31 regular trading partners to estimate the commodity-specific gravity model. The PPML and Heckman selection models are simultaneously estimated to confirm the robustness of the findings. The results reveal that GDP, exchange rate, common language, and country land area are the significant factors affecting the Chinese pork exports flows. Moreover, China’s WTO membership, the ‘Belt & Road’ Initiative, and the common borders have a positive significant impact on its exports of pork.

The present study aims to measure the technical efficiency and establish core factors affecting rice production in Cambodia. A four‐year dataset generated from the central government document “Profile on Economics and Social” of 25 entire provinces between 2012 and 2015 and the stochastic production frontier model (SFA) was applied. The results indicated that the level of output (quantity) of Cambodian rice production varied according to the different level of capital investment in agricultural machineries, total rice actual harvested area, and technical fertilizer application within provinces. Furthermore, evidence revealed that the overall mean efficiency of rice production is 78.4%, which implies that there is still room to further improve technical efficiency given the same level of inputs and technology. More importantly, the findings revealed that irrigation, production techniques and amount of agricultural supporting staff are the most important influencing factors of rice production’s technical efficiency in Cambodia. In conclusion, the present study strongly recommends the development of irrigation systems and good water management practices to be considered and bring about more effective actions by the central government as well as related agencies for improving rice production in Cambodia in addition to capital investment and improving technical skills of supporting staff and rural farmers.

Purpose. The purpose of this study is to trace the theoretical developments of the gravity model of trade. The key question is: what are the dominant features of the development of the gravity trade model? Methodology. This research is conducted by employing a number of methods that include the historical, descriptive and analytical methods. The main contribution of this paper is to trace the historical and theoretical development phases of the gravity model. Findings. This study is a novel attempt in terms of the identification of the four distinctive phases of the development of the gravity model. This work would, therefore, expand the existing literature on the gravity model. We argue that the development of the gravity model is the outcome of many research efforts. A large body of literature has given the model a solid theoretical foundation. But there is no consensus about the proper econometric estimation methods of the model. The gravity model is significant both historically and analytically. It is a useful tool for the analysis of international trade. It has become a popular research device used by the researchers and policy makers around the world. The gravity is regarded as one of the most successful models in the literature of international economics. Originality. The original contributions of this paper lie in streamlining the consistent historical development of the gravity model over a longer period of time-frame, ranging from 1885 to 2018. Limitations and Implications. This work is theoretical aspects of the trade gravity model. Future researchers could overcome the limitations by combining the theoretical and empirical studies in a paper. This paper can help the future researchers in dealing with the broad body of literature of gravity model. Acknowledement. This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grants No.71673223 & 71473197), and a PhD scholarship from the China Scholarship Council (CSC). The first author would like to thank the CSC for the financial support. He also acknowledges the invaluable research advice and guidance received from Dr. Yoto V. Yotov, professor at the School of Economics of the Lebow College of Business at Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA. The authors are highly grateful to the anonymous reviewers, managing editor, and the editor-in chief for their kind help and critical comments on the earlier drafts of the paper. However, the authors are responsible for the contents and limitations of the study. They declared no conflict of interests.

This study aims to identify the major factors influencing the Cambodian rice exports through an application of the dynamic gravity framework estimated by the Generalized Least Square (GLS), the Poisson Pseudo-Maximum-Likelihood (PPML), and the Heckman Sample Selection models, based on a period of 22-year panel data (1995–2016) and a total of 40 selected importing partners. The results show that the historical ties, the policy of exchange rate and the agricultural land reform promote the rice exports; the expansion of the exports to the trading partners, especially the EU, China and the ASEAN countries are particularly highlighted. As a macroeconomic issue and resistance factor, the economic recession, impeding the exports flows, would require further special attentions.

This study investigates the factors affecting the violations of human rights at the borderlands between Bangladesh and India. It sheds a new light on the question: What are the main reasons behind the border killings between Bangladesh and India? Based on both official data and a field survey, it is argued that the issue of border killings is a gross violation of human rights. This study provides Bangladeshi perspectives on the issue of border killings and deaths. A section of India’s Border Security Force (BSF) is the main violator of human rights at the borderlands between the two countries. The continued culture of border killings hampers the bilateral relationships between India and Bangladesh by creating a climate of fear and mutual mistrust. A conceptual framework is proposed to provide a deeper understanding of border killings. The findings reveal the nature and causes of killings of Bangladeshi people by India’s BSF. Cross-border migrations, illicit economic activities, the Indian fence scheme, border disputes and the BSF’s ‘shoot-to-kill’ policies are, among other factors, principal reasons for border killings. This empirical analysis of Indo-Bangladesh border killings might contribute to the development of a border theory.

Purpose: In this paper, the authors derive time-varying relative export competitiveness (REC) of the Cambodian rice sector from 1995 to 2018 and examine the key determinants of the REC.Design/methodology/approach: Three different REC indexes are calculated in this paper. The authors also developed the relative symmetric export competitiveness (RSEC) index for calculation of comparative advantage. The short-run regression (SRR) model was applied for capturing the determinants of the REC.Findings: The study results reveal that Cambodia's rice exports became relatively competitive over time. The key findings suggest the Cambodian REC was strengthened as a result of a successful implementation of rice policy and rectangular strategy. The benefits gained from EBA and BRI were found to be the factors contributed to the REC. The higher per capita income had a positive effect on the REC, while higher domestic prices reduced the REC in some phases of the sectoral development.Research limitations/implications: Further research is needed in two directions. First, the future studies might focus on other agro-products of Cambodia. Second, the development of the crop-specific factor endowment (CFE) model to consider the effect of endowment factors on the REC could be preferred in light of the data availability.Originality/value: The research enriches the literature on the agricultural trade and provides a basis for further studies. This work makes a few contributions. First, it is the first study on the REC analysis for the Cambodian rice sector. Second, the latest 24-year data sets were covered. Third, a wide range of comparisons of REC among the world's top rice exporters was provided following implications of the various economic policies and foreign policy strategies, such as RS, EBA and BRI.