Looking into global value chains: influence of foreign services on export performance

Using data from the OECD Inter-Country Input–Output database, we explore the impact of foreign services value added content of exports on export performance, specifically on duration of trade. Our data show that the share of foreign services content in manufacturing exports grows from 1995 to 2011, in a way similar to foreign goods content, and in contrast to the decreasing share of domestic services. Moreover, the share of foreign services value added content is larger for developing and emerging countries than for advanced countries. Our econometric findings confirm that foreign services value added embodied in manufacturing exports contribute positively to more resilient exports relationships, a positive effect which occurs for the three groups of manufacturing industries (high, medium and low technology industries) and, for each group, it is more pronounced for developing and emerging economies.     

Can the Japanese agri-food producers survive under freer trade? A general equilibrium analysis with farm heterogeneity and product differentiation

The roles of firm heterogeneity and product differentiation in the manufacturing industries have attracted research attention on the “new new trade theory.” The agricultural sectors also produce new goods using product differentiation through breeding, branding, and other activities. In reaction to globalization, the Japanese Government has sought to revitalize its agri-food sectors by promoting exports of differentiated products. This computable general equilibrium study examines the relevance of this policy, focusing on five agri-food sectors other than grains. We simulate Japan’s three trade deals and a policy intervention that cuts fixed export costs to promote exports. We show that only a few agri-food sectors can increase exports and maintain domestic output under freer trade, and that export promotion would markedly increase entrants into export markets and increase exports of the vegetables and fruit, and processed food product sectors. In these trade deals, tariff and nontariff barriers have different impacts on trade, output, and farm/firm entry.     

Do High-technology Exports Cause More Technology Spillover in China？

The volume of China’s high-technology exports has grown sharply since the implementation of its export promotion strategy "Revitalizing Trade through Science and Technology" in 1999.This paper investigates whether technology spillover effects are greater for hightechnology exports than for primary manufactured goods exports.We present a generalized multi-sector spillover model to identify both between spillover effects from exports towards non-exporters and within-spillover effects among export sectors.Using panel data for 31 provinces in China over the period from 1998 to 2005,we find that although high-technology export sectors have higher productivity compared with other sectors,this productivity advantage does not lead to technology spillover to both domestic sectors and other export sectors,and export technology spillover mainly derives from traditional export sectors rather than high-technology export sectors.As such findings can be largely attributed to the fact that China’s high-technology exports depend significantly on processing trade by foreign- invested firms,policy implications are discussed in relation to how to best promote the role of China’s high-technology exports during economic expansion.     

The reverse home-market effect in exports: a cross-country study of the extensive margin of exports

Do small countries have higher proportions of firms that export in manufacturing industries than large ones? As small countries are well known to be more open than large ones, it may appear uncontroversial to claim that the answer is yes. Nevertheless, this contradicts predictions from many standard trade models positing a home-market effect in the number of manufacturing firms and exporters. In this article, I present a theoretical model where a home-market effect in the number of firms coexists with a reverse home-market effect in the number of exporters: as in standard models, the number of firms in a small country relative to that in a large one is lower than relative income, but, in contrast to standard models, the relative number of exporters is larger. As a consequence, small countries will have higher proportions firms that export in manufacturing industries—a claim I support empirically.     

全球价值链分工下的双边贸易收益核算：以中美贸易为例

通过构建双边贸易收益核算模型,从总体规模、行业结构、实现方式等层面对中美双边贸易收益进行核算。本文发现中美双边出口中均包含着大量的对方国内增加值,与增加值贸易差额比较,传统统计口径的中美贸易差额出现明显高估。其中中国对美货物出口的贸易顺差被显著高估,而服务出口的贸易顺差被明显低估。在中美双边贸易中,中国对美出口包含的本国国内增加值比重不到七成,而美国对华出口包含的本国国内增加值比重超过八成。中国出口到美国的产品绝大部分表现为最终产品并且被美国当地消费,而美国出口到中国很大部分表现为中间品,并且通过对增值折返及对第三国出口的形式实现。     

Global value chains and the “missing exports” of the United States

Many American multinational corporations have turned into factory-less. They outsource the production of their products to foreign companies and derive the largest share of their revenues from intellectual property and services embedded in physical products sold to international consumers. However, conventional trade statistics are compiled based on the value of goods crossing national borders, as declared to customs. The value added associated with intellectual property and services embedded in physical goods is not recorded as an export. Current trade statistics greatly underestimate US exports. In this paper, we use the case of Apple, the largest American consumer products company and a typical factory-less manufacturer, to illustrate the failure of conventional trade statistics to report actual US export capacity in the age of global value chains. According to our analysis of this case, if the value added of Apple intellectual property and services embedded in all Apple products sold to foreign consumers were counted as part of US exports, total US exports in 2015 would increase by 3.4%, and its trade deficit would decrease by 7.0%. In terms of bilateral trade, the value added under examination here would raise the US exports to China and Japan by 16.6% and 8.7% respectively, and lower its trade deficit with the two countries by 5.2% and 7.8% accordingly.     

Understanding Cross-Country Differences in Exporter Premia: Comparable Evidence for 14 Countries

We use comparable micro level panel data for 14 countries and a set of identically specified empirical models to investigate the relationship between exports and productivity. Our overall results are in line with the big picture that is by now familiar from the literature: exporters are more productive than non-exporters when observed and unobserved heterogeneity is controlled for, and these exporter productivity premia tend to increase with the share of exports in total sales; there is evidence in favour of self-selection of more productive firms into export markets, but nearly no evidence in favour of the learning-by-exporting hypothesis. We document that the exporter premia differ considerably across countries in identically specified empirical models. In a meta-analysis of our results we find, consistent with theoretical predictions, that productivity premia are larger in countries with lower export participation rates, with more restrictive trade policies, lower per capita GDP, less effective government and worse regulatory quality, and in countries exporting to relatively more distant markets. JEL no.  F14, D21     

增加值视角下金砖国家制造业的贸易利得与竞争力研究

基于贸易增加值核算的基本原理,对金砖五国制造业出口增加值进行分解,同时利用标准显示性竞争指数测算金砖国家制造业竞争力,研究发现：中国的贸易利得与庞大的出口总额严重不匹配,其他金砖四国的贸易利得远远高于中国;对中国、巴西和印度而言,基于国内增加值测算的NRCA值要高于基于出口总额测算的NRCA值,而俄罗斯和南非恰恰相反;金砖五国在低技术制造业上表现出各自的竞争优势,除了中国在电子通信和光学设备制造业及机械制造业有相对的竞争优势外,金砖五国整体上在高技术产业层面与美日德等发达国家存在较大差距。应从培育高级要素、产能合作、共建科技创新体系等方面来提高金砖国家制造业竞争力。     

中国仅仅是制造大国吗——基于出口增加值测算角度

文章从出口增加值测算角度,对1995-2011年中国出口中的制造和服务含量进行分析。结果表明:（1）中国服务出口总值基本赶上甚至一度超越了制造出口总值,中国同样也是"服务大国",其中由制造业间接出口的服务含量超过了由服务业直接出口的服务含量;（2）中国服务出口的国内增值能力弱于制造出口,日本、韩国、美国、中国台湾、德国等发达国家或地区是中国出口价值的主要外部来源地,中国本土的制造和服务在全球化分工中需要实现自我提升;（3）中国产品在主要进口市场所占份额整体上呈现出上升趋势,相比国际服务市场,中国产品在国际制造市场上拥有更大的覆盖面和影响力。文章的研究为制造和服务产业融合发展提供了新的理论和数据支撑。     

Foreign direct investment, processing trade, and the sophistication of China's exports

China's export structure has shown a rapid shift towards more sophisticated industries. While some believe that this trend is a result of processing trade and foreign direct investment, the evidence is mixed. This paper examines variations in level of export sophistication across China's manufacturing industries. We find that an industry's level of export sophistication is positively related to the share of wholly foreign owned enterprises from OECD countries and the share of processing exports of foreign-invested enterprises, and negatively related to the share of processing exports of indigenous Chinese enterprises. Evidence from the relative export prices of Chinese goods, which measure within-product export sophistication, shows a similar pattern.     

进口贸易提高了中国制造行业出口技术含量吗?

中国自发达国家进口以中间品和资本品为主,在全球垂直专业化分工中参与程度较深。本文利用出口收入指数方法计算结果显示,2001～2010年中国制造行业的进口收入指数高于出口收入指数,贸易结构表现为进口高技术含量产品、出口低技术含量产品的特征。面板数据计量检验结果表明,中国自发达国家进口显著地促进了中国出口产品的技术水平,而且这一促进作用在高垂直专业化程度行业、高R&D经费支出行业更为明显。我国制造业应着力改善国内的要素条件,加大R&D经费投入,加快物质资本折旧和更新速度,提高国内行业对进口技术溢出的吸收能力。     

Wholesalers,indirect exports,geography, and economies of scope: Evidence from firm transaction data in Japan

This study examines wholesalers’ roles in manufacturers’ exports in Japan. First, it is shown that, like in the case of manufacturing sector, a productivity sorting on the overseas activities is also present in the case of wholesalers. Namely, only the most productive wholesaler firms can engage in foreign direct investment, and the next productive wholesaler firms can participate in export activities, and the least productive wholesaler firms do domestic transactions only. Second, we investigate how the wholesalers facilitate manufacturers’ export activities in the form of indirect exports. We have found that the wholesalers through which manufacturing firms indirectly export their goods are predominantly located in Tokyo or Osaka. The probability of indirect exports is negatively correlated with distance between manufacturers and wholesalers, but there are certain threshold distances at 300–500 kilometers, over which the chance of indirect exports turns null. Another notable finding is that wholesalers’ productivities have positive correlation with the chances of indirect exports whereas manufacturers’ productivities do not matter. The number of manufacturers from which a wholesaler purchases goods, is found to have a positive correlation with the probability of indirect exports, a type of economies of scope effect.     

Trade Propensities and Foreign Ownership Shares in Indonesian Manufacturing

This paper examines the relationship between trade propensities and foreign ownership shares in Indonesian manufacturing in 1992 and 1994. Foreign plants had relatively high trade propensities, and plants with high foreign ownership shares had the highest export propensities. Differences in import propensities among foreign ownership groups were relatively small. It might be argued that trade propensities determine foreign ownership shares in Indonesia, which historically waives foreign ownership restrictions for firms that export much of their output. However, this paper argues that causation runs from foreign ownership shares to trade propensities, because multinational firms have strong incentives to restrict access by uncontrolled affiliates to their international marketing networks, and because the relationship persists even when the effects of policy distortions are accounted for. Correspondingly, ownership restrictions that discriminate among foreign ownership groups are likely to reduce the exports of foreign multinational affiliates, but to have a much weaker effect on imports.     

How Japanese firms can weather endaka periods: Evidence from the transportation equipment industry

Japan has experienced several appreciation episodes. These appreciations may squeeze profit margins and lower export volumes. This paper investigates whether firms can weather appreciation periods by producing differentiated rather than commoditized products. To do this it investigates different sectors within the Japanese transportation equipment industry. Results from estimating pricing-to-market (PTM) coefficients indicate that firms producing differentiated products can pass-through more of exchange rate appreciations into higher foreign currency prices and thus better preserve their profit margins. Results from estimating trade elasticities are consistent with the PTM results and indicate that the automobile industry has exported much less than predicted after the yen depreciated in 2012. Finally, estimates of the stock market exposure across sectors indicates that the profitability of firms producing differentiated products is less exposed to appreciations. Producing differentiated, knowledge-intensive goods can thus help firms to survive endaka periods.     

外商直接投资对我国服务贸易的影响研究——基于1982～2010年时间序列数据的实证分析

本文基于向量自回归(VAR)模型,利用我国1982～2010年度的经济数据,对我国外商直接投资对我国服务贸易的影响进行实证分析,结果表明:外商直接投资与我国服务贸易进口、出口之间存在协整关系;服务贸易进口与FDI存在双向的因果关系。无论从长期或短期来看,外商直接投资对我国服务贸易进出口的效应均为正。基于此,我国应制定相关吸引外资的政策,重视服务贸易人才培养,并促进我国货物贸易出口与服务贸易出口协调发展,进而发挥货物贸易出口对服务贸易出口的带动作用。     

Multi-product firms and exporting: a developing country perspective

In this paper we make the distinction between single-product and multi-product firms to contribute to our understanding of the complex relationship between multinational enterprises (MNEs), exporting and economic development. Using firm-level data for Thailand we show that the number of goods produced causes a larger variation in exports volumes than production volumes. Whilst the number of products and the total volume of exports are positively correlated we find, in contrast to US studies, a negative correlation between the number of products produced and the volume of production per product. We then investigate the characteristics associated with multi-product firms and find a distinction between foreign-owned and domestic firms. The presence of foreign firms producing single products solely for the domestic market as well as those producing many products for export demonstrates the diversity of behaviour of foreign-owned firms in developing countries.     

The growth of China and India: implications and policy reform options for Malaysia

This study explores the trade‐related impacts of rapid growth of China and India on the Malaysian economy and evaluates policy options to better position Malaysia to take advantage of these changes. Higher growth in China and India is likely to raise Malaysia's national income and to expand Malaysia's natural resource and agricultural exports, while putting downward pressure on exports from some manufacturing and service sectors. Increases in the quality and variety of exports from China and India are likely to increase substantially the overall gains to Malaysia. The expansion of the natural resource sectors and the contraction of manufacturing and services reflect a Dutch‐disease effect that will raise the importance of policies to facilitate adaptation to the changing world economy and improve competitiveness. Most‐favoured‐nation (MFN) liberalisation would increase welfare, and, by increasing competitiveness, raise output and exports of key industries. Preferential liberalisation with India and completely free trade with China would provide greater market access gains than MFN reform, but neither would be as effective in increasing income as MFN liberalisation, and free trade agreements would lead to greater competitive pressure on many of Malaysia's industries than MFN liberalisation. Increased investments in education and infrastructure could boost manufacturing and services sectors in Malaysia, while improving trade logistics would benefit sectors with high transport costs, including the agricultural and resource‐based industries.     

Are Manufacturing Exports the Key to Economic Success in Africa?

The poor performance of many African economies has been associatedwith low growth of exports in general and of manufacturing exportsin particular. The two most successful countries in Africa havebeen Botswana and Mauritius. In Botswana, rapid export growthfollowed the discovery of diamonds; in Mauritius, manufacturingexports played a major role. In this paper we draw on both macroand micro evidence from nine African countries to investigatewhether manufacturing exports are the key to success in Africa.We do this by posing three questions. First, how close is thelink between export and income growth? Second, is there evidencefrom these African countries that manufactured exports haveled to greater economic success? Third, what has limited thesuccess of firms in the manufacturing sector? We argue thatexport and income growth are very closely linked. However, thereis, for this sample of countries, no evidence that if theirexports are manufactures, growth rates are higher. We show thatthe factors that limit the success of African manufacturingfirms in exporting are their levels of efficiency and smallsize. We argue that the key to success in an area where Africahas a potential cost advantage — labour-intensive garments— is to enable large firms to use a more labour-intensivetechnology than is the case at present.     

地区营商环境对企业出口贸易的影响

文章利用世界银行于2013年公布的中国制造业企业问卷调查数据,实证检验地区营商环境对企业出口贸易的影响。研究发现,营商环境体系中的关贸监管效率、行政审批效率、基础设施条件、融资便利程度、高素质劳动力等因素显著阻碍了企业出口强度的提升,这几个方面应当成为政府部门改善营商环境的政策着力点。不同类型企业对营商环境的诉求存在显著差异,大型企业的出口贸易对营商环境各项指标的质量都更加敏感,高生产率企业的出口贸易则更易受到低质量税制环境和高素质劳动力短缺的制约。东部发达地区的企业出口贸易受要素市场条件的约束相对更多,而中西部欠发达地区的企业出口贸易受贸易便利条件的约束更为突出。     

Exports and Productivity Selection Effects for Dutch Firms

The paper tests whether recent theories of international trade with heterogeneous firms can explain the export patterns in Dutch firm- and plant- level data in manufacturing and services. Recent trade models with heterogeneous firms predict that the export decision of firms is affected by sunk entry costs in foreign markets, with only the most productive firms self-selecting into exports. We test a latent variable model of the export decision by probit regressions and standard OLS panel regressions. Our results support the self-selection prediction. The process further appears to be conditioned by scale effects, market structure and multinational affiliation. Regarding alternative explanations, we do not find evidence for the learning-by-exporting hypothesis, even when controlling for the firm’s distance to the international productivity frontier.