Integration and intra-industry trade adjustment in South Africa

This article analyses intra-industry trade adjustment by the Southern African Customs Union after 1994, and links between trade liberalisation and employment are examined. The traditional Grubel-Lloyd index is complemented by marginal inter- and intra-industry trade measures, and trade expansion of sectors is scaled, related to change in total exports and imports. In three different empirical approaches, large differences are found: in the level of intra-industry trade (IIT) between different sectors (categorised into resource-based, labour-intensive, scale-intensive and differentiated industries); in the level of IIT of individual sectors in trade with the SADC6, the European Union and the rest of the world; and in the economic significance of trade expansion for different industries and with different trading partners. Trade expansion is dominated by differentiated and scale-intensive industries, indicating that the main economic gain of international integration is found in the opportunity to exploit economies of scale in a larger market. IIT and marginal IIT are positively related to increases in labour productivity, and negatively related to employment change. Interindustry trade and both export and import expansions are positively related to employment gain, but only export is positively related to increased labour productivity.     

贸易开放与工资差距——基于中国制造业行业面板数据的实证研究

本文在中国贸易非均衡发展现状基础上,构建计量模型,从商品价格机制、技术进步机制和生产率进步机制角度探讨中国贸易开放影响中国制造业行业间工资差距的具体传导机制。研究发现:(1)就制造业总体而言,贸易主要通过技术进步机制和劳动生产率机制来影响行业工资,造成行业间工资差距的扩大。(2)具体而言,劳动力密集型行业中,进出口贸易、资本密集度和劳动生产率共同作用于行业工资差距;在资本密集型行业中,进口贸易、资本密集度和劳动生产率是扩大工资差距的动因;在技术密集型行业中,出口贸易是工资差距扩大的主导因素。     

Does global value chain participation improve firm productivity? A study of selected ASEAN developing countries

This paper examines the impact of local firms’ participation in global value chains (GVCs) on productivity by considering three different patterns of GVC participation. We conducted a DID-PSM estimation involving three countries, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, and 17 manufacturing sectors in 2009 and 2015 in a panel framework. We found an endogenous relationship between firm productivity and GVC participation: firms that enter GVCs have high productivity before participating in the GVCs (selection effect), and only Indonesian firms that entered GVCs had high productivity growth after joining GVCs (learning effect). These two effects were only found for firms that both import intermediate goods and export output and not for firms that only either import or export. We also found that indirect exporting does not improve a local firm's productivity. Several recommendations are made to help firms and governments facilitate the participation of firms in GVCs.     

Trade and the structure of South African production, 1984-97

With the onset of trade liberalisation, fears have been raised concerning the impact of trade on manufacturing output, employment and growth. Using an input–output methodology, this article decomposes South African output growth between 1984 and 1997 into final demand expansion, trade flows and technology. There are two main findings. First, trade liberalisation has not deindustrialised the manufacturing sector. Although import penetration has risen, export growth has matched and exceeded the potential import-induced losses in domestic production. South Africa's response thus conforms closely to international evidence. Secondly, a combination of strong growth in capital-intensive exports and import penetration in ultra-labour-intensive sectors has aided the structural shift in production towards capital-intensive sectors. However, capital-biased supply-side policies, as well as endemic problems within ultra-labour-intensive sectors, suggest that domestic factors and not trade liberalisation lie behind this shift.     

Catching Up or Pulling Away: Intra-Industry Trade,Productivity Gaps and Heterogeneous Firms

In this paper we develop a heterogeneous firm, intra-industry trade model in which countries are asymmetric in both technology and size. In the trading equilibrium, the industry productivity levels countries are jointly determined by the technology gap and trade barriers. We find that the (exogenous) technological gap is a key determinant of the size and direction of the intra-industry resource reallocation introduced by trade. Most importantly, the effect of trade on the (endogenous) productivity gap could be non monotonic over time. In the short-run, where the number of incumbents cannot adjust to trade, the effect of import competition dominates and the productivity gap between countries is closed as domestic firms in the laggard country face tougher competition from leading country exporters. However, in the long run when entry is possible, the effect of the increased export opportunities in the leading country dominates and the productivity gap is widened as a consequence of entry in the technological leader.     

Extent and evaluation of protection in developing countries

Tariff protection and nontariff barriers are higher in developing countries than in industrial nations. The tendency of protection to decline with a higher level of development can be explained by the role of import taxes in government revenue, by export pessimism, and by differential treatment of developing countries under GATT.Protection against imports is a burden on the export sector. Trade liberalization has important effects on economic growth and factor productivity. Recent programs of trade liberalization are implemented together with complementary macroeconomic policies to enhance the possibility of sustaining trade policy reforms to be sustained.     

Trade Openness and Vertical Integration: Evidence from the U.S. Manufacturing Sector

The present article aims to empirically examine a relationship between trade openness and the pattern of vertical integration using the six‐digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) of U.S. manufacturing data from 2002 to 2006. We use the index of vertical integration made out of inter‐plant transfers data by the U.S. Census Bureau, and we consider three proxies of trade openness—import penetration, export shares, and trade penetration. The empirical results substantiate 2000 theoretical proposition that trade openness undermines motives for vertical integration.     

自由贸易抑或贸易保护——国际贸易的经济增长效应再考察

全球经济复苏过程中,发达国家与新兴经济体之间关于自由贸易的争议也变得空前激烈。国际贸易是否有利于全球经济增长?这实际上是长期以来国际经济学与发展经济学领域颇具争议的问题之一,而在当下对这一问题进行重新审视更具有重要的现实意义。传统贸易理论对贸易合理性的探究尽管触及了经济增长问题,但在贸易静态收益理论的框架下,国际贸易究竟是否会促进一国经济增长,既取决于各个国家在各个发展阶段的经济增长究竟偏向于出口部门还是进口部门,也取决于各种贸易政策对各个部门的相对供给和相对需求的影响。本文对现有针对国际贸易与经济增长关系所做的实证研究作了系统回顾和分析总结,明确指出了目前各种看似矛盾的实证证据背后的理论和技术根源。在此基础上,运用两阶段最小二乘估计(2SLS)和GMM动态面板回归技术,对1960～2006年期间全球各国面板数据进行分析,对不同收入水平的国家组别分别就其贸易占GDP比重与GDP增长之间的关系进行实证检验。文章发现,上述实证研究证明国际贸易对经济增长的促进作用与一国经济发展阶段相关,但对不同收入水平的国家而言则存在差异,同时进口和出口在经济增长中的表现也存在差异性。总体来看,对中等收入国家而言,贸易占GDP比重与GDP增速之间的关系最强,进出口均有较强带动作用;高收入国家贸易占GDP比重与GDP增速之间关系较弱,进口的作用甚至大于出口;低收入国家贸易占GDP比重与GDP增速之间的关系最弱,进口甚至有抑制作用。     

中日商品贸易中内涵能源的分析及其政策含义

本文基于投入产出法,从国家、部门和重点行业三个层次定量研究了中日商品贸易中的内涵能源问题。分析表明,2000-2007年中国一直是内涵能源的净出口国。对比日本同类部门,中国的部门生产倾向于更多的能源要素投入和对高能耗部门的依赖,间接反映出由生产技术特征决定的投入结构还处在较低水平。这些部门产品在出口的同时也向进口国转移了大量的内涵能源。相比贸易规模,贸易结构对于中日内涵能源进出口发挥了更为关键的作用。     

Trading firms in the services sectors: comparable evidence from four EU countries

We establish a set of stylised facts for trade and trading firms in five market services sectors using comparable firm- and activity-level data from four EU countries. Our analysis shows that exports account for much lower shares of overall sales in the services sectors than in manufacturing. This is because fewer firms are engaged in trade in the services sectors and also because within particular sectors firms trade a lower share of their sales on average. Services producers trade mostly goods, but in terms of value, trade in services is much more important to them than to manufacturers. Larger and more productive firms are more likely to be two-way traders and to engage in both goods and services trade. Trade by services firms is somewhat less dominated by firms that both export and import than trade by manufacturing firms. Few firms export many services or to many countries. The value of services exports is increasing in the number of markets served but not necessarily in the number of services traded.     

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.     

中国国防支出对经济贸易影响的实证研究

中国在一体化经济和军民融合的新时代背景下,研究国防支出对经济贸易的影响机制具有重要价值。通过对中国近三十年来国防支出对国内生产总值和对外进出口贸易的影响进行实证研究可以发现：中国的国防支出可以促进经济增长,而对外贸易能够促进国防支出增加且对外进口贸易对其影响增幅较大。同时,根据研究结论提出中国要稳步增加国防支出、优化出口贸易结构、加大产业科研投入、推动区域协调发展的政策建议。     

The extent of anti-export bias in the South African economy during the 1990s

An analysis of trade incentives in the South African economy during the 1990s reveals two major findings. Firstly, the extent of the anti-export bias in South Africa's trade policy during the 1990s is less than is claimed in the empirical literature. The sectors subjected to an anti-export bias accounted for around 7 per cent of total output in 1990 and 21 per cent in 1999. Secondly, sectoral output growth did not strongly correlate with the prevailing trade incentives of the 1990s. Export production continued despite the prevalence of import substituting incentives in many sectors. Although further research is needed, this suggests that attention should also be given to other factors related to domestic competitiveness (e.g. skills development, productivity enhancement, competition policy, etc.) and market access if South African export production is to be significantly increased.     

加工贸易提高了环境全要素生产率吗——基于Luenberger生产率指数的研究

为系统考察加工贸易对经济增长、环境污染的影响,本文依托中国30个省份2000—2009年的数据测算出考虑坏产出的Luenberger生产率指数,并在此基础上对加工贸易的环境全要素生产率效应展开深入分析。研究表明,加工贸易和环境全要素生产率之间存在着显著的倒U形关系,当加工贸易占货物贸易的比重超过0．35时,加工贸易将对中国环境全要素生产率产生负效应。与此同时,出口和进口在环境全要素生产率的决定中有着完全相反的作用。在以上结论的基础上,本文提出了调整外贸模式、完善产业政策、协调区域发展的若干政策建议。     

中间品进口、制度环境与出口产品质量升级

文章基于2000-2013年中国工业企业和海关进出口贸易微观匹配数据,在地区制度环境存在显著差异的背景下研究中间品进口、制度环境与对中国制造业出口产品质量之间的关系。实证研究结果表明：（1）中间品进口通过"竞争效应"、"知识溢出效应"、"中间品质量效应"以及"中间品多元化效应"机制影响企业出口产品质量,但提升效果会因企业所有制、贸易方式、中间品进口来源国、技术复杂度不同而具有显著的异质性;（2）制度环境改善一方面可以直接提升出口产品质量,另一方面强化了中间品进口对出口产品质量的提升效应,中间品进口与制度环境在影响出口产品质量方面存在互补性;（3）文章进一步从动态视角考察了进口持续期对出口产品质量的影响,研究得出二者呈现"U"型关系,短期进口无法提升出口产品质量,持续进口以及适时进入可以显著提升出口产品质量。本研究为中国出口产品国际竞争力提升,改善区域制度环境提供了理论与现实支撑。     

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.     

数字贸易、产业结构升级与出口技术复杂度——基于结构方程模型的多重中介效应

提升出口技术复杂度能显著提升中国创新能力,而发展数字贸易是促进中国出口技术复杂度提升的重要途径。研究数字贸易的影响因素以及数字贸易通过哪些途径对中国出口技术复杂度产生影响,是理顺数字贸易与出口技术复杂度之间关系的关键任务。利用中国30个省(区、市)的数据,使用结构方程模型和中介效应检验方法,分析了数字贸易综合竞争力对中国出口技术复杂度的影响,结果发现:信息化水平、政府科技支出占比、进出口贸易、劳动生产率通过数字贸易对出口技术复杂度产生显著的间接效应,但政府科技支出对中国数字贸易综合竞争力的影响最小;数字贸易通过人力资本对出口技术复杂度产生显著的间接效应,R&D强度在数字贸易与出口技术复杂度之间起中介作用;数字贸易通过R&D强度对中国产业结构升级产生显著的间接效应,其对产业结构的作用能通过人力资本、R&D强度进行传导。因此,要加快推动数字贸易高质量发展,大力提升信息化水平,不断提升政府科技支出对数字贸易综合竞争力的促进作用。     

外商直接投资、进口贸易与全要素生产率——基于省域制造业的实证研究

本文以2000-2011年的省域制造业面板数据为基础,考察了外商直接投资和进口贸易对全要素生产率的影响。通过对全要素生产率的地区变化的横截面及不同时期的分解对比,本文的实证分析结果发现进口贸易和外商直接投资对全要素生产率的提高均具有正的促进作用,这表明,在不损害国家总体贸易政策的前提下加强进口和引进FDI是一种提高全要素生产率的较好方式。     

金融危机、技术性贸易壁垒与出口国企业技术创新

本文研究了外部金融危机冲击下的出口国企业技术创新行为。进口国的金融危机会在两个方面影响其进口行为:政治上,进口国会提高进口产品的技术性贸易壁垒;经济上,进口国居民收入的下降导致对进口产品需求的下降,这两方面在对贸易出口形成冲击的同时都会对出口国企业的技术创新产生一定的正面效应,形成产业升级的"倒逼"效应。以此出发,本文构建的理论模型证明了进口国的最低质量标准和危机后更具垄断特征的出口市场结构确实会对出口企业的技术创新产生激励,但该结论的成立需满足一定的条件和假设。模型结论还显示,技术创新同规模经济的生产技术类似,都可以提高出口国企业的利润,但技术创新更具持久性。     

对外贸易影响中国制造业市场绩效的实证研究

本文利用中国制造业的面板数据实证分析了对外贸易对行业绩效的影响,通过选择价格成本差距衡量行业的绩效,本文的研究结论表明,进口贸易对我国市场竞争程度较高行业的价格成本差距具有显著的正向影响,而对市场竞争程度较弱的行业具有不显著的负向影响,国内行业市场竞争程度越弱,进口贸易的负面效应越大;而出口贸易的扩大对我国制造行业的价格成本差距具有显著的负向影响。