The Survey of Economic Integration among Caspian Sea Countries (Gravity Equation Model)

Among the practical responses of countries to deal with the phenomenon of globalization and economic integration it can be noted that nowadays, the convergence of the economic boom has coincided with the globalization, so choosing a union or regional trade group, is one of the important objectives of the business plan. This paper examines the economic convergence between Iran and the Caspian Sea littoral states of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan. Therefore, a gravity model based on the new evidence and stipulation were used.The study consisted of five countries in the period of 1998 to 2008. The results show that Iran has the least resistance to import and it has second rank in export. Also the results show Caspian Sea's economic integration increases bilaterally between the countries. Furthermore the long-term elasticity of exports is greater than the long-term elasticity of imports.