People in different countries with a common border dummy (DCB) tend to share a number of
characteristics such as taste, fashion, and local dialects, and they are usually better informed
about different prevailing conditions (Wang and Winters, 1991) in near by countries compared
with other third countries. A common border dummy variable is used as a proxy for all these
factors. It is equal to one if the trading partners share a common border; otherwise it takes zero as its value.