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Trade Integration and Business Cycle Synchronization Data: 1960-1990

By Department of Research and Chief Economist (VPS/RES/RES)

This dataset provides macro bilateral trade data spanning 1960-1990, assembled to support research on the relationship between trade intensity and business cycle synchronization. It is the data companion to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) study Trade Intensity and Business Cycle Synchronization, and includes the underlying database alongside the paper's appendices and supporting tables.

Topic and context

A long-standing question in international economics is whether closer trade ties lead countries' economic cycles to move more closely together. Greater bilateral trade integration can transmit demand and supply shocks across borders, potentially synchronizing booms and recessions—an issue with direct implications for regional integration, monetary cooperation, and the design of trade policy. This dataset was created to make that relationship empirically tractable by pairing bilateral trade flows with the information needed to study co-movement of business cycles across countries.

What the resources contain

The dataset brings together the bilateral trade database used in the analysis (in spreadsheet form) together with the study's appendix tables and documentation. The accompanying paper materials describe the data construction, definitions, and the empirical approach, so that the figures and tables reported in the research can be reproduced and extended. The resources are provided as spreadsheet (XLS) and document (DOC) files.

Intended uses

Economists, researchers, and graduate students working on international trade, regional integration, and macroeconomic co-movement can use the dataset to replicate the original results, benchmark new estimates, or build on the bilateral trade series for related questions. Its broad cross-country scope makes it suitable for comparative and panel analyses of trade and the business cycle.

Access and citation

The dataset is openly available through IDB Open Data under a Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivs 3.0 IGO license. Users are asked to cite the dataset and its DOI when reusing the data.

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Metadata & use

Identifier https://doi.org/10.60966/xyzo37qh
License Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivs 3.0 IGO
Related Knowledge Product
Citation

Chong, Alberto E. (2015). Trade Integration and Business Cycle Synchronization Data: 1960-1990. IDB Open Data. https://doi.org/10.60966/xyzo37qh
Published date 2015-03-04
Modified date 2026-10-28
Tags/Keywords Integration and Trade
Language
  1. English
Temporal coverage 1960-1990
Country
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahamas
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Canada
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros
Costa Rica
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Congo - Kinshasa
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Estonia
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hong Kong SAR China
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Côte d’Ivoire
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kenya
Kiribati
Kuwait
Latvia
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Luxembourg
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Mali
Malta
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar (Burma)
Namibia
Nepal
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
St. Lucia
Samoa
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
St. Vincent & Grenadines
Suriname
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Taiwan
Thailand
Gambia
Netherlands
Togo
Trinidad & Tobago
Tunisia
Türkiye
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Region Latin America and the Caribbean
Publisher
Inter-American Development Bank
Author
Chong, Alberto E.
Data collection type Administrative Data
Statistical type Cross-sectional Data
Data structure Structured Data
Dataset unit of observation

Country pair
Data notes

What does this dataset contain?

It contains macro bilateral trade data for the period 1960-1990, together with the appendix tables and documentation that support the study Trade Intensity and Business Cycle Synchronization.

What research question does the data address?

The data was created to study whether closer trade ties lead countries' business cycles to move more closely together—that is, the relationship between bilateral trade intensity and business cycle synchronization.

What time period does the data cover?

The bilateral trade data spans 1960 to 1990.

What is the geographic scope of the data?

Because it captures bilateral trade flows, the dataset has a broad cross-country scope covering economies worldwide, including many Latin American and Caribbean countries alongside partners across other regions.

Why does the link between trade and business cycles matter?

Greater bilateral trade integration can transmit demand and supply shocks across borders, potentially synchronizing booms and recessions. This has direct implications for regional integration, monetary cooperation, and the design of trade policy.

What resources and file formats are included?

The dataset includes the bilateral trade database and the study's appendix tables in spreadsheet (XLS) format, along with paper appendices and documentation in document (DOC) format.

How can the accompanying documentation be used?

The accompanying paper materials describe the data construction, definitions, and empirical approach, so that the figures and tables reported in the research can be reproduced and extended.

Who can use this dataset and for what purposes?

Economists, researchers, and graduate students working on international trade, regional integration, and macroeconomic co-movement can use it to replicate the original results, benchmark new estimates, or build on the bilateral trade series for related questions.

Is this dataset suitable for comparative or panel analysis?

Yes. Its broad cross-country scope and multi-decade time span make it suitable for comparative and panel analyses of trade and the business cycle.

Under what license is the dataset published?

The dataset is published under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivs 3.0 IGO license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo/).

How do I cite this dataset?

Cite it as: Chong, Alberto E. (2015). Trade Integration and Business Cycle Synchronization Data: 1960-1990. IDB Open Data. https://doi.org/10.60966/xyzo37qh. The publisher is the Inter-American Development Bank; the DOI is 10.60966/xyzo37qh.

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