This work uses a gravity model to estimate the determinants of . crude oil imports, introducing two variables tied to the political nature of trade: . arm sales and the level of political freedom in a country. Model results indicate that contiguity is important for . crude oil imports, but trade agreements are not. Being an OPEC member leads to more exports of crude oil to the . These factors combined with the negative relationship with freedom and . crude oil imports, suggests that the . imports a lot of oil from countries that have little cultural and political similarities. | International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy ISSN 2146-4553 available at http International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy 2021 11 4 288-297. Do Political Factors Influence . Crude Oil Imports Jayson Beckman Getachew Nigatu Economic Research Service 355 E Street SW Washington DC 20024 USA. Email The findings and conclusions in this publication are those of the authors and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or . Government determination or policy. Received 03 February 2021 Accepted 29 April 2021 DOI https ABSTRACT This work uses a gravity model to estimate the determinants of . crude oil imports introducing two variables tied to the political nature of trade . arm sales and the level of political freedom in a country. Model results indicate that contiguity is important for . crude oil imports but trade agreements are not. Being an OPEC member leads to more exports of crude oil to the . These factors combined with the negative relationship with freedom and . crude oil imports suggests that the . imports a lot of oil from countries that have little cultural and political similarities. Keywords Oil Gravity Structural Break . Politics JEL Classifications Q4 F1 1. INTRODUCTION exchange rate Hanson et al. 1993 Harri et al. 2009 or from its relationship with ethanol Saghaian 2010 . The United States has historically been the world s largest importer of crude oil importing on average 21 of the global value of crude Changes in political relations and supply issues have transformed oil imports from 2002 to 2015 UN Comtrade 2018 . . imports the composition of . imports of crude oil over the years. Since of crude oil have declined from its peak in 2005 largely due to the the supply disruptions in the Middle East of the late 1970s the . domestic production growth from the shale oil boom however has turned to favor supply from its .
