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Abstract
This study analyzes U.S. cocoa bean imports from twenty-one major cocoa-producing and exporting countries during
the pre- and post-liberalization period of 1970-2008 using the gravity equation and a linear one-way fixed effects
model. The objective was to measure trade creation for a World Trade Organization (WTO) member that has undergone
trade liberalization. Cocoa beans can serve as a proxy for any tropical commodity upon which a developing
country heavily relies on for export revenue, such as is the case with cocoa for Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, for example.
Our results find participation in free trade agreements (FTAs) and WTO membership do contribute to increased
U.S. cocoa bean imports at the one percent and five percent confidence levels, respectively.