ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY AND ITS RELEVANCE IN COUNTRIES WITH DIFFERENT INCOME LEVELS: A PERSPECTIVE FOR TRANSITION ECONOMIES

Abstract

The study of the effectiveness of economic diplomacy has become a popular topic in the field of international economic relations. Recent trends are confirmed by a large number of academic studies focusing on the evaluation of the performance of diplomatic and consular offices abroad. This paper represents a new attempt to empirically examine the effectiveness of economic diplomacy using the example of a transition country, based on the activities of Ukrainian foreign representations. Over the last decade, this Eastern European state has experienced significant economic turbulence, political instability and a shift in the vector of foreign economic policy, which is the main impetus for the re-evaluation of its economic diplomacy. Using recent data on export flows, the authors apply a gravity model of trade to assess the impact of economic diplomacy on export activity. The results suggest that embassies are a more relevant means of promoting export flows to low- and middle-income countries.