Navigating Bilateral Digital Trade Flows: The Role of Digital Intellectual Property Agreement Networks

Abstract

As digital trade becomes a crucial driver of global economic growth, the protection of digital intellectual property (DIP) has emerged as a central concern in regional trade agreements. This study explores how a country's centrality within regional DIP agreement networks influences its digital product exports to other network members. The empirical analysis is conducted using a global panel dataset during the period from 2001 to 2021. The findings show that greater centrality within regional DIP networks significantly increases a country's digital product exports to its network partners. This effect is primarily driven by two mechanisms: improved market access and enhanced technological innovation associated with central positioning. Moreover, the results indicate that this positive relationship is more pronounced for developing economies than for developed ones, suggesting that developing countries may derive greater benefits from central positioning in regional DIP networks. A series of robustness checks, including tests addressing potential endogeneity due to reverse causality, further confirm the reliability of our findings.