On the Measurement of Product Quality in Intra-Industry Trade

The world has witnessed a dramatic increase in trade over the last forty years. Much of this growth in trade is intra-industry in nature. A relatively recent development in the intra-industry trade (IIT) literature is the measurement of the simultaneous import and export of quality-differentiated products, commonly known as vertical and horizontal IIT. In this paper we compare the Greenaway, Hine and Milner (1994) and Fontagné and Freudenberg (1997) approaches to disentangling vertical and horizontal intra-industry trade and examine some of the implications of employing simple ratios to define the boundary between product quality types. We present a complementary approach based on the traditional Grubel and Lloyd (GL) index and demonstrate with numerical examples its versatility and applicability at the product level. JEL no. F19     

Does the measurement of intra-industry trade matter?

Does the Measurement of Intra-Industry Trade Matter? — This paper discusses different methods of capturing the main aspects of the Chamberlin-Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson model. Of particular interest are the distinction between horizontal and vertical intra-industry trade, the adjustment of aggregation biases, and the definition of inter- and intra-industry specialization at product level. The main findings are that it is important to disentangle horizontal and vertical intra-industry trade, and to consider specialization patterns within refined product groups. Moreover, there is a nonlinear relationship between intra-industry trade and economies of scale that may explain contradictory results in the literature.     

中日钢铁产业内贸易及影响因素实证分析

为了研究中日间钢铁产业内贸易及其主要影响因素,首先,选用相关指数和方法对1990～2009年两国钢铁产业内贸易水平进行分类测量发现,中日钢铁总体产业内贸易水平呈波浪形增长,产业内贸易模式以垂直型产业内贸易为主;其次,运用时间序列分析对总体产业内贸易、水平型和垂直型产业内贸易与各影响因素分别进行了协整检验和Granger因果检验,在实证结论基础上文章提出重点应在优化出口产品结构、提高市场集中度、提高自主创新能力等方面努力。     

Country-specific factors and the pattern of horizontal and vertical intra-industry trade in the UK

Country-Specific Factors and the Pattern of Horizontal and Vertical Intra-Industry Trade in the UK. - A large number of empirical studies have investigated the relationship between country-specific factors and total intra-industry trade (IIT). One important shortcoming of this literature is that it ignores the distinction between horizontal and vertical IIT and ignores the fact that they may have different determinants. This paper disaggregates UK IIT into its horizontal and vertical components and, using bilateral trade data, estimates a series of models incorporating countryspecific variables. The results suggest that vertical IIT is more important in the UK than horizontal IIT and that the inter-country pattern of vertical IIT is systematically related to a range of explanatory variables.     

Measuring marginal intra-industry trade

Measuring Marginal Intra-Industry Trade. — Trade liberalisation and adjustment: how important is intra-industry trade? This paper focuses on the appropriate measurement of intra-industry trade as indicator of structural adjustment costs. It is argued that existing dynamic versions of the Grubel-Lloyd index reflect horizontal trade only and classify vertical intra-industry trade with inter-industry trade. The paper proposes a method to distinguish between horizontal and vertical trade and applies these techniques to emerging trade between the EU and the economies of central and eastern Europe.     

国家特征视角下中国产业内贸易决定因素实证研究——基于2000～2007年面板数据的分析

本文首先运用边际产业内贸易指数对2000～2007年中国的总体、水平型和垂直型产业内贸易水平分别加以测度,然后运用面板数据从国家特征角度对产业内贸易决定因素进行跨时期实证研究。结果表明:经济规模、外商直接投资和贸易不平衡是影响我国产业内贸易的主要国家特征因素,其中,经济规模与我国产业内贸易尤其是水平型产业内贸易呈正相关,且显著性有增强趋势;外商直接投与我国产业内贸易呈负相关,且影响程度有减弱趋势;贸易不平衡与我国总体、水平型和垂直型产业内贸易都呈明显负相关,且影响程度有增强趋势。另外,地理位置和政治文化因素对我国产业内贸易发展也有不容忽视的影响。     

Chinese Bilateral Intra-Industry Trade: A Panel Data Study for 50 Countries in the 1992–2001 Period

This study examines the features and determinants of Chinese intra-industry trade during the 1992–2001 transition period for 50 of China’s trade partners. We disentangle total intra-industry trade (TIIT) into vertical intra-industry trade (VIIT) vis-à-vis horizontal intra-industry trade (HIIT), using data at the four-digit SITC level. The findings indicate that Chinese bilateral intra-industry trade, particularly VIIT, increased significantly during this transition period. VIIT appears to be positively related to differences in consumer patterns. HIIT is negatively related to these differences. In addition, we find that FDI has played an important role in determining IIT, especially VIIT. Other significant intra-industry trade drivers are geographical distance, economic size, trade openness and trade composition. Finally, the impact of China’s liberalization policies and the special role of Hong Kong are demonstrated. We discuss a number of important business and political implications that can be drawn from our findings. JEL no. F14     

两岸机电产品进出口产业内贸易研究

机电产品一直在两岸货物贸易中占有主导地位,深入研究两岸机电产品产业内贸易的现状和特征能对促进两岸贸易提供参考,两岸机电产品贸易中既有产业内贸易形式也有产业间贸易形式,但主要以产业内贸易为主;近几年贸易增长主要是由产业间贸易增长带动;两岸机电产品产业内贸易结构呈垂直型,水平型有待提高。今后两岸侧重提升产业内贸易水平,促进垂直型产业内贸易向水平型转化。     

The Skill Content of Inter- and Intra-Industry Trade: Evidence for the United Kingdom

In this paper we investigate the relative importance of net exchanges of skills embodied in intra-industry and inter-industry trade for the UK’s trade with some middle income countries. We also separately measure the net exchanges of skills embodied in vertical and horizontal intra-industry trade (IIT). We find that there are substantial factor exchanges involved in IIT, implying that traditional factor content studies may have seriously underestimated the actual factor content of total trade flows. This means that the adjustment effects of IIT may be greater than is often presumed. We also find, in line with theory, that vertical IIT involves similar net exchanges of labour of different skills to that of inter-industry trade, while horizontal IIT involves much smaller net exchanges of skills. JEL no. F11, F14     

On the Measurement of Changes in Product Quality in Marginal Intra-Industry Trade

There is a long established thread of the international trade literature concerned with the measurement of intra-industry trade (IIT). Two distinct strands of the literature have developed: First, measures of marginal IIT that are concerned with the adjustment implications of volume-based changes in IIT; second, measures of vertical and horizontal IIT that are concerned with quality-based differences in IIT. This paper marries the two literatures to provide a new perspective on the smooth adjustment hypothesis debate and suggests the use of the marginal product quality index, a new measure of changes in quality in matched trade changes that complements dynamic measures of volume-based IIT. JEL no.  F19     

台海两岸ICT制造业的贸易模式及其决定因素分析

本文基于中国台湾1993～2010年的贸易数据对台海两岸信息通信科技(ICT)制造业最终产品和零部件贸易模式进行解析,研究结果显示:台海两岸ICT制造业的贸易模式逐步从20世纪90年代以产业间贸易为主转变为21世纪以产业内贸易为主,这一点在零部件贸易中表现得尤为突出;无论是最终产品还是零部件,台海两岸ICT产品产业内贸易都以垂直产业内贸易为主,并且零部件产业内贸易中垂直产业内贸易所占比重明显高于最终产品;进一步分析ICT产品垂直产业内贸易中台湾的相对技术优势发现,无论是在最终产品还是零部件垂直产业内贸易中,台湾对大陆出口的高技术含量产品均占据优势份额且呈迅速上涨趋势。台海两岸ICT制造业的产业内贸易模式的实证检验表明,两岸ICT零部件的产业内贸易主要是由驱动ICT全球性生产网络发展的垂直专业分工链条的分解所导致,而ICT最终产品的产业内贸易则主要是由市场规模等需求性因素所导致。     

The nature and causes of intra-industry trade: Back to the comparative advantage explanation? The case of Spain

The Nature and Causes of Intra-Industry Trade: Back to the Comparative Advantage Explanations? The Case of Spain. — The aim of this paper is to contribute empirically to the knowledge of the nature and causes of intra-industry trade (IIT), distinguishing between vertical and horizontal IIT. To this end, we estimate a more general empirical model than those used in previous studies, by introducing simultaneously both national and industry-specific variables which include measures for human and technological capital endowments. The results show that vertical IIT is positively related to industry technological intensity and differences in human and technological capital endowments between countries. On the other hand, horizontal IIT is explained by the traditional monopolistic competition model.     

On the measurement of product quality in intra-industry trade: An empirical test for China

A relatively recent development in the intra-industry trade (IIT) literature is the measurement of the simultaneous import and export of quality-differentiated products, commonly known as vertical and horizontal IIT. A recent paper from Azhar and Elliott [Azhar, A. K. M. & Elliott, R. J. R. (2006), On the Measurement of Product Quality in Intra-Industry Trade, Review of World Economics, Vol 142 no 3, pp 476–495] analyses various approaches for disentangling vertical and horizontal IIT and suggests a complementary methodology. To investigate the robustness and sensitivity of the existing approaches we examine data on the nature of trade flows between China and its East Asian neighbours and show that in 2002 China tended to export low quality versions of its manufactured goods to Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.     

Driving forces of vertical intra-industry trade in Europe 1996–2005

A common feature in the empirical literature of intra-industry trade is the analysis of trade between a given reference country and a set of partners. This article differs from previous studies by examining the bilateral trade among all trading partners within a set of partners. Using a panel data approach, we find that differences in factor endowments seem not to be important as a driving force behind vertical intra-industry trade for European countries over the chosen period. More important driving forces are production size, geographical proximity, average income per capita and income distribution overlap.     

Production Structure in the Context of International Trade

This paper deals with the recent empirical phenomenon of intra-industry trade, i.e., trade in similar goods between similar countries. It treats this phenomenon from the point of view of the theory of the structure of production, highlighting the importance of the sequential nature of production and the heterogeneity and specificity of factors of production, as developed by Carl Menger, Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk and their followers of the Austrian School of economics. The reader is first exposed to the historical development of production and capital theory. A simple theory of production structure, along the lines of Austrian economics, is afterwards presented and a useful tool for the analysis of intra-industry trade is developed. In the following discussion of existing theories of intra-industry trade, we make the case for vertical intra-industry specialization, complex manufactured goods and sliced-up production chains across countries. The reader immediately observes the importance of Austrian production structure theory for the analysis of intra-industry trade. We accordingly apply the concepts of the structure of production to intra-industry trade and analyze, in particular, the time- and place-aspects of international production. The concluding section shows the relevance of our approach to intra-industry trade for the analysis of business cycle synchronization across countries, and for the optimum currency areas theory.     

中国制造业国际分工地位研究——基于产业内贸易形态的跨国比较

利用四分位贸易数据,从产业内贸易形态跨国比较的视角,本文对中国制造业国际分工地位进行了研究。结论发现:中国贸易50%以上为低品质垂直产业内贸易,发达国家50%以下为低品质垂直产业内贸易;随着产品技术含量升级,中国低品质垂直产业内贸易比重上升,高技术产品达92.6%;劳动密集型行业以水平产业内贸易为主,技术和资本密集型行业以低品质垂直产业内贸易为主。因此,中国制造业国际分工地位低下,在技术和资本密集型产品上尤为低下。提升"中国制造"国际分工地位,实现"中国制造"到"中国创造"成为当务之急。     

日本对华直接投资与中日垂直型产业内贸易实证研究

利用产业内贸易指数对1988至2009年中日贸易数据的分析结果显示:产业内贸易已成为两国贸易的重要组成部分,其中SITC 7类机电产品产业内贸易特征尤为明显。进一步分析表明,中日产业内贸易比重的提升主要得益于垂直型产业内贸易的发展。利用Fukao等人(2003)的模型对FDI与垂直型产业内贸易的分析结果表明,在FDI成本与贸易成本较低的条件下,当两国存在要素禀赋差异时,FDI会引起两国间垂直型产业内贸易。     

The measurement of intra-industry trade between unequal partners

Summary This note argues that the inadequacy of the GL index to correctly reflect the level of intra-industry trade in presence of trade imbalances may partly be due to measuring intra-industry trade between countries with large differences in economic size. Several adjustment procedures have been suggested in the literature but it is demonstrated that none of the alternative measures seem capable of eliminating the problem. A new measure of intra-industry trade is proposed in which the bilateral level of intra-industry trade is divided by the total number of products traded between two countries to yield an average level of intra-industry trade per product. This measure may also be applied at industry level, and in contrast to the GL index, it is highly correlated with the actual level of intra-industry trade. In studies of intra-industry trade, one should cautiously interpret the GL index since it may give a false picture of the extent and the volume of intra-industry trade. If the standard GL index is used, it is suggested that also alternative measures of intra-industry trade are employed to complement the GL index in order to correctly observe the true extent of intra-industry trade.     

Trade Costs and Intra-Industry Trade

Formal economic modeling of intra-industry trade ignores transportation or, more broadly, trade costs. Yet, as Anderson and van Wincoop (2004) suggest, trade costs are quite large. This paper extends work by Bergstrand (1990) that addressed intra-industry trade in the explicit presence of trade costs. In the context of a Helpman–Krugman-cum-trade-costs model, we derive four empirically testable hypotheses regarding intra-industry trade and trade costs. These hypotheses are investigated empirically using a cross-section of bilateral OECD Grubel–Lloyd indexes. The results are strongly in accordance with the hypotheses, indicating the importance of a more rigorous and systematic treatment of trade costs in the intra-industry trade literature. JEL no. F14, F15     

FDI与垂直型产业内贸易实证研究——基于中日统计数据的Granger因果检验

基于Fukao等人(2003)的模型对FDI与垂直型产业内贸易的分析结果表明,在FDI成本与贸易成本较低的条件下,当两国存在资源禀赋差异时,FDI会引起两国间垂直型产业内贸易。进一步利用1988年至2009年中日贸易数据的指数进行分析的结果表明:产业内贸易已成为两国贸易的重要组成部分,其中SITC 7类机电产品产业内贸易特征尤为明显,而中日产业内贸易比重的提升则主要得益于垂直型产业内贸易的发展。而Granger因果检验的结果证实了理论分析的结论。