A data set on international trade in armaments for the major western industrialized and developing countries for 1980: Sources and methodological issues

Zusammenfassung Eine Datensammlung über den internationalen Waffenhandel der bedeutenden westlichen Industrie- und Entwicklungsl?nder im Jahre 1980: Quellen und methodische Fragen. — Dieser Aufsatz liefert eine Sammlung von Daten über den internationalen Waffenhandel nach Herkunfts- und Bestimmungsl?ndern (-regionen) für die bedeutenden westlichen Industrie- und Entwicklungsl?nder im Jahre 1980. Die Sammlung enth?lt Sch?tzungen über die Aufteilung des internationalen Waffenhandels nach den vier Sektoren: Kriegsschiffe, Milit?rflugzeuge, milit?rische Nachrichtenausrüstungen und milit?rische Güter. Sie ist st?rker disaggregiert als die Quellen, die zur Zeit verfügbar sind, und enth?lt, wo immer m?glich, Sch?tzungen des Umfanges und der Richtung von Waffenlieferungen.

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Résumé Quelques données sur le commerce international d’armes des principaux pays industriels de l’ouest et des pays en voie de développement en 1980: sources et méthodes. — L’intention de l’étude est de représenter des données sur le commerce international d’armes par pays/région d’origine et de destination parmi les principaux pays industriels de l’ouest et les pays en voie de développement en 1980. Les données contiennent des estimations de la répartition du commerce militaire en quatre secteurs: les navires de guerre, les avions de combat, l’équipement de communication militaire et les biens militaires. Les données sont plus désagrégées que celles qui sont disponibles jusqu’à présent et contiennent, s’il est possible, des estimations du volume et de la direction du commerce international d’armes.

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Resumen Datos sobre el comercio international de armas de los países occidentales industrializados y en desarrollo más importantes para 1980: fuentes y problemas metodológicos. — El objetivo de nuestro trabajo es presentar datos sobre el comercio internacional de armas según países/regiones de origen y destinatarios correspondientes a los países occidentales industrializados y en desarrollo más importantes para 1980. Estos datos incluyen estimaciones de cuatro sectores de comercio: buques miliares aviones militares, equipo de comunicaciones militares y bienes militares. Nuestros datos son más desagregados que los datos actualmente disponibles de otras fuentes e incluyen, siempre que haya sido posible, estimaciones de la magnitud y directión de los flujos comerciales de armas.

     

Free trade and income redistribution in some developing and newly industrialized countries

A competitive general equilibrium model of production is specified and the long-run comparative static elasticities of changing prices on factor prices are examined in eight developing and newly industrialized countries. Unskilled labor in these developing countries stands to gain from a program of global free trade characterized by increased manufacturing exports and falling prices of imported business services, while capital owners and skilled labor lose. Results are contrasted with developed countries, the United States in particular, where unskilled labor will lose while capital and skilled labor enjoy gains with global free trade.     

Sectoral effects of reductions in NATO military expenditures in the major industrialized and developing countries

We use the Michigan Model of World Production and Trade to assess the sectoral effects of (1) a 25 percent unilateral reduction of military expenditures in the individual NATO countries and (2) a 25 percent multilateral reduction of military expenditures in all of the NATO countries combined. Our principal findings suggest that the overall effects of the unilateral and multilateral reductions are not substantial and that the results of the two reductions are qualitatively similar. The sectoral results, which are also broadly similar in the two experiments, suggest that sectors such as basic metals and metal products, durable goods, and community, social, and personal services might be in need of transitional adjustment assistance for displaced workers in the event that the reductions in military expenditures would in fact be carried out.     

Fragmentation and trade: US inward processing trade in the EU

Fragmentation and Trade: US Inward Processing Trade in the EU. — Fragmentation, which refers to the splitting up of a previously integrated production process into separate components, is seen as one of the reasons for the increasing globalization of the world economy. This paper undertakes an empirical study of the extent of US inward processing trade (IPT) in the EU, which we use as a proxy for fragmentation in trade. We also provide empirical evidence on the determinants of the distribution of US IPT across manufacturing sectors in the twelve EU member states. Our results give support to the importance of comparative advantage for the sectoral distribution of US IPT. Also, we find that the labour costs and the level of US FDI stocks affect US IPT in EU peripheral countries, while they do not seem to have any impact on EU core countries.     

International transfer of knowledge: The role of international trade and geographic proximity

International Transfer of Knowledge: The Role of International Trade and Geographic Proximity. —The paper examines empirically the effect of international trade and geographic proximity on knowledge inflow to Sweden. Swedish patent data is used to trace knowledge flows. Both geographic proximity and international trade are in a first estimation found to affect knowledge flows. An extreme bounds analysis is conducted on the estimated coefficients. The coefficient for geographic proximity is sensitive to the choice of included variables but the coefficient for international trade is robust. The paper concludes therefore, that international trade facilitates the exchange of knowledge.     

Does Technology Foster Trade? Empirical Evidence for Developed and Developing Countries

This paper aims to investigate the effects of technology on international trade flows. In order to do so, the authors use a composite index designed to capture the performance of countries concerning technology and human knowledge as a new explanatory variable in an augmented gravity equation estimated for a sample of 62 developed and developing countries. Results show that geographical factors are always relevant, however geographical distance, being landlocked, technological and social factors seem to be more important for the poorest than for the richest countries. Transport infrastructure and technology can be considered as barriers to trade for those countries with lower endowment levels, therefore investing in these variables will increase the participation of the poorest countries in the world economy.The authors would like to thank the participants at the 2004 International Atlantic Economic Conference held in Lisbon and at the VII Encuentro de Economía Aplicada held in Vigo for their useful comments and suggestions. Moreover, the authors acknowledge the support and collaboration of the Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas.     

Exchange-rate variability and trade performance: Evidence for the big seven industrial countries

Zusammenfassung Variabilit?t der Wechselkurse und Entwicklung der Exporte: Evidenz für die sieben gro\en Industriestaaten. — Dieser Aufsatz enth?lt empirische Ergebnisse über den Zusammenhang zwischen der Variabilit?t der Wechselkurse und dem Au\enhandel der sieben gro\en OECD-L?nder. Im Gegensatz zu anderen Arbeiten wird der Einflu\ der realen Exporterl?se der ?lf?rderl?nder auf die Ausfuhr dieser sieben L?nder berücksichtigt. Au\erdem wird das ausl?ndische Einkommen sowohl bei “hohen” als auch bei “niedrigen” Dollar-Wechselkursen berechnet, um sicherzustellen, da\ die Ergebnisse nicht durch die Wahl eines bestimmten Wechselkursniveaus für den Dollar verzerrt werden. Schlie\lich werden au\er den unverz?gerten auch die verz?gerten Impulse der Wechselkursvariabilit?t für die Exporte getestet. Die Ergebnisse lassen darauf schlie\en, da\ die Wechselkursvariabilit?t die Exporte keines der sieben gro\en L?nder w?hrend der Periode flexibler Kurse nachteilig beeinflu\t hat.

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Résumé Variabilité des taux de change et performance commerciale: Evidence pour les grands sept pays industriels. - Cet article présente des résultats empiriques concernant la relation entre la variabilité des taux de change et le commerce pour les grands sept pays OCDE. Contrairement aux autres études empiriques les auteurs considèrent l’influence des revenus reéls d’exportation des nations producteurs de pétrole sur les exportations de ces sept pays. Aussi les auteurs mesurent le revenu étranger au niveau des taux de change de dollar ?haut? aussi bien que ?bas? pour garantir que les résultats ne sont pas biaises par le niveau particulier des taux de change choisi pour le dollar EU. Finalement, les auteurs testent les effets immédiats et retardés de la variabilité des taux de change sur les exportations. Les résultats indiquent que la variabilité des taux de change n’a pas négativement influencé les exportations des grands sept pays pendant la période des taux de change flexibles.

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Resumen Variabilidad del tipo de cambio y comercio internacional: Evidencia para los siete países industrializados más importantes. - En este trabajo se presentan resultados empíricos de la relación entre la variabilidad del tipo de cambio y el comercio para los siete países más importantes de la OECD. A diferencia de trabajos previos se toma en cuenta la influencia de los ingresos reaies en concepto de exportaciones de los países exportadores de petróleo sobre las exportaciones de los siete países estudiados. Además se mide el ingreso en divisas al cambio alto y bajo del dólar, con el fin de evitar el sesgo immanente al utilizar un sólo nivel de cambio para el dólar. Finalmente, so lleva a cabo un test para estudiar el efecto instantáneo y desfasado de la variabilidad del tipo de cambio sobre las exportaciones. Los resultados indican que la variabilidad del tipo de cambio no ha afectado negativamente a las exportaciones de los siete países estudiados durante el período de cambios flexibles.

     

Labour-market effects of intra-industry trade: Evidence for the United Kingdom

Labor-Market Effects of Intra-Industry Trade: Evidence for the United Kingdom. — According to the “smooth adjustment hypothesis”, the labor-market adjustment costs entailed by trade liberalization are lower if trade expansion is intra-industry rather than inter-industry in nature. In this paper, we study the link between trade and labor market changes in UK manufacturing industries during the 1980s. We use industry-level measures of unemployment duration and wage variability as proxies for adjustment costs, and we relate them to various measures of intra-industry trade. Our evidence offers some support for the smooth adjustment hypothesis.     

Global current account adjustment: trade implications for the euro area countries

Although the euro area is not one of the major players in current global imbalances, the rebalancing of the current global imbalances is coupled with a significant appreciation of the euro against. In this paper, I present estimations of trade equations for individual euro area countries using a vector error correction model. Each euro area member has got a different trade elasticity, in the short as well as in the short run. Results show that exchange rate innovations affect individual euro area countries at different rates, complicating the response of the euro area’s one-size-fits-all monetary policy.

Overall trade specialization and economic development: countries diversify

This paper provides evidence for an aspect of trade often disregarded in international trade research: countries’ sectoral export diversification. The results of our semiparametric empirical analysis show that, on average, countries do not specialize; on the contrary, they diversify. Our results are robust for different statistical indices used to measure trade specialization, for the level of sectoral aggregation, and for the level of smoothing in the nonparametric term associated with per capita income. Using a generalized additive model (GAM) with country-specific fixed effects it can be shown that, controlling for countries’ heterogeneity, sectoral export diversification increases with income.

Export variety and export performance: Empirical evidence for the OECD countries

Export Variety and Export Performance: Empirical Evidence for the OECD Countries. — Does product variety matter for export performance? This has been suggested by the new trade theory. In the present paper, we investigate empirically whether increasing export variety has contributed to the export growth of the OECD countries. We calculate direct measures of export variety and estimate pooled export demand equations for 15 OECD countries. The econometric results suggest that producing highly differentiated export goods gives a competitive advantage which allows to sell more products.     

Technological specialization in industrial countries: Patterns and dynamics

Technological Specialization in Industrial Countries: Patterns and Dynamics. — This paper employs distribution dynamics and patent data to study the empirical dynamics of technological specialization in industrial countries. Large countries spread innovation activities across a wider range of technologies, and their specialization level in a field displays lower probability to move around its initial level (country size effects). Mobility is high and asymmetric: it is difficult to improve specialization in very disadvantaged technologies, while high comparative advantages revert towards lower specialization levels. These findings undermine the theory of technological accumulation and path dependence, its implication of persistence in trade specialization patterns and the effectiveness of targeted industrial and technology policies.     

Two-way trade between unequal partners: The EU and the developing countries

Two-Way Trade between Unequal Partners: The EU and the Developing Countries. — This paper analyses the intra-industry trade specialization between the EU and the developing countries between 1980 and 1992. It shows that EU intra-industry trade with the developing countries has greatly increased and that the traditional measure of intra-industry trade, the Grubel-Lloyd index, is inappropriate when applied to trade between developed and developing countries. By and large, the empirical analysis confirms that intra-industry trade between the developed and the developing countries increases with average and per capita income, and with reduced differences in economic size and capital-labour ratios.     

Democracy and Durability: Empirical Analysis and a Causality Test

The current literature has failed to differentiate between the collapse of democratic and authoritarian rules or whether democratic regimes collapse for the same reasons as do authoritarian regimes. Therefore, the current literature is silent on whether democracies are more fragile or less susceptible to economic and political breakdowns. Using a multitude of political instability variables, this paper explores empirically, whether political freedom and civil liberty (a proxy for democracy) has any effect on the stability of the political order. The empirical results of the paper confirm the hypothesis that democracy is conducive to political stability; the higher the level of political freedom and civil liberty, the more stable countries are. The paper also presented a Granger-causality test of political instability and the level of political freedom and civil liberty. The test results indicate that the level of political freedom and civil liberty Granger-cause the level of political instability, while the level of political instability does not Granger-cause the level of political freedom and civil liberty. The test results indicate that Granger-causality runs one-way from political freedom and civil liberty to political instability and not the other way. A further comprehensive research is needed on the multi-layered and the complex relationship among democracy and the resilience of the political order.I would like to thank an anonymous referee for helpful comments that improved the quality of the paper. I would also like to thank the Research Council of Niagara University for their financial support.     

On the bilateral trade effects of free trade agreements between the EU-15 and the CEEC-4 countries

The expansion of regionalism has spawned an extensive theoretical literature analysing the effects of free trade agreements (FTAs) on trade flows. In this paper we focus on FTAs (also called European agreements) between the European Union (EU-15) and the Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC-4, i.e. Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Romania) and model their effects on trade flows by treating the agreement variable as endogenous. Our theoretical framework is the gravity model, and the econometric method used to isolate and eliminate the potential endogeneity bias of the agreement variable is the fixed effect vector decomposition (FEVD) technique. Our estimation results indicate a positive and significant impact of FTAs on trade flows. This finding is robust to the inclusion in the sample of a group of control countries (specifically Belarus, the Russian Federation and the Ukraine) that did not sign an FTA. Besides, we show that trade growth after the FTA agreement with the EU was signed exceeded trade growth of the control group of countries, which did not become members.

Imperfect Competition, Economic Miracle, and Manufacturing Productivity Growth: Empirical Evidence from Taiwan

Several recent studies on total factor productivity (TFP) concluded that the East Asian economies benefited little from TFP growth. This study claims that the failure by previous studies to consider the effect of net indirect taxes and market imperfections resulted in the underestimation of the share of the contribution of labor input to factor income, which consequently led to the overestimation of capital share and understatement of TFP growth. Therefore, this study has modified the conventional approach of calculating factor shares by taking account of net indirect taxes and market imperfections and used the modified approach to estimate TFP growth in 16 Taiwanese manufacturing industries during the period 1979–1999. The conclusion drawn by the study is that TFP growth was the driving force behind the success of Taiwan's manufacturing industries, although many of these industries experienced a sharp decline in TFP during the 1990s.     

国家发改委：统筹城乡需破五大难题

国家发改委副主任彭森日前在＂全国综合配套改革试点工作会议＂上说,城乡二元结构迟迟难以破除,有生产力发展水平和城镇化发展阶段的原因,但更多还在于体制机制制约。破除城乡二元结构是一项带有全局意义的重大体制攻坚任务,也是一项复杂的系统性工程,单兵突进难以有效突破,必须通过综合配套改革,协同推进,集中攻坚。     

The search for determinants of catching up: Theory, the East Asian experience and the Chinese case

This paper aims to develop a framework to identify the key determinants of a country's growth in late development and apply the framework to analyze the case of China. I analyze the possible necessary and sufficient conditions for catching up. The analyses suggest that an adequate location, initial human capital and institutional arrangements are among the key determinants; for the majority of developing countries, institutional arrangements alone dictate catching up or not. If the institutional arrangements are efficient, then a follower can achieve what I term long-term potential growth rate provided that there exists an adequate location and initial human capital. The experience of Japan and the East Asian newly industrializing economies is evaluated in the framework. Based on the framework of catching up and the experience of East Asia, the Chinese case is analyzed. The analyses suggest with high probability that China will sustain high growth and get close to its long-term potential growth rate in the coming decades: 7–10% annually in the next 15 years and 5–7% annually in the following 15 years.     

An impact of economic integration through trade: on business cycles for 10 East Asian countries

Many recent studies about East Asian countries discussed “natural” economic integration through trade, but there are few rigorous empirical studies on how their economies were affected by the evolution of economic integration within the region. This paper investigates the effect of bilateral trade dependence on the co-movement of business cycles for 10 East Asian countries. We find that economic fluctuations tend to be more synchronized within the region as trade interdependence among them deepens. This finding suggests the necessity of cooperative efforts to prevent or adjust unfavorable future economic crisis in East Asia.