Export demand elasticities and productivity as determinants of growth: estimates for Mauritius

In this article, we combine the export led and import led growth hypotheses in a growth model in which the importation of foreign capital goods and the demand elasticities of own export products explain the growth opportunities and the technical progress of developing countries. This model, based on imported capital goods, uses Mauritius’ data on capital investment, employment, export partners’ growth and terms of trade to estimate price and income elasticities of export demand, total factor productivity growth and economies of scale. These elasticities are then used to assess how the growth in export partners’ income is converted into domestic growth. The implications of the presence of low or high export demand elasticities are discussed by relating them to various strands of trade and growth literature. Based on the results of this estimation, we also calculate steady state growth rates, engine and handmaiden effects of growth as well as the dynamic steady state gains from trade for this latecomer export economy. The implications of steady state results are also discussed in the light of the Mauritian employment and growth perspectives.     

The long term impact of economic development in developed countries on developing countries since 1820

The linkages between the economic development of developed and developing countries are analyzed historically. The analysis is divided into epochs, distinguished by global trade regimes and by common characteristics of long term economic growth. The break throughs in long distance transport technology which occured during the industrial revolution created a global economy in which the rythm of economic activity in developing economies became linked to that of developed economies. The major transmission mechanisms were international trade, international migration and international capital flows. Exports were the main engine of growth in developing countries. But the effects of export expansion varied across countries. The speed of transmission of the industrial revolution to developing countries depended on their institutional readiness; countries with most developed capitalist institutions in factor markets were the first to develop. The extent of diffusion of the benefits of growth from export expansion within developing countries also depended on the nature of their institutions, both economic and political. Finally, policies with respect to international trade, investment and agriculture were also critical to the speed and diffusion of economic development.The research underlying this paper is the result of a twentyfive year collaboration with Professor Cynthia Taft Morris. She is indebted to the World Bank for financing the research in this paper as part of the background studies for the World Development Report 1991. She is also indebted to Sherman Robinson for his comments.     

东北亚国家出口多样化与经济增长的关系——基于动态面板数据的系统GMM估计

利用1996—2010年东北亚国家的贸易数据,验证了出口多样化与人均GDP之间的关系,并采用系统广义矩方法建立动态面板数据模型,估计了出口多样化对经济增长的贡献。结果表明:就东北亚单个国家而言,出口多样化与人均GDP之间呈U型变动关系,但就东北亚整体而言,这种U型关系并不明显;从东北亚国家的经验来看,出口多样化对经济增长具有积极作用;目前我国出口正处于从多样化向集中化转变的上升阶段,尚未达到U型曲线的拐点。     

全球价值链嵌入、出口技术升级与制造业增加值隐含碳——来自浙江细分行业的经验证据

以外向型经济和制造业大省浙江为例,运用投入产出法测度2001—2017年浙江制造29个细分行业出口增加值隐含碳,并运用面板数据模型研究了嵌入全球价值链、出口技术升级对出口增加值隐含碳的影响。研究表明,浙江省制造业出口产品单位贸易利益的二氧化碳排放成本即出口增加值隐含碳大幅度下降。出口技术升级、贸易开放显著地降低了浙江省制造业出口增加值隐含碳,能源强度、人力资本、参与国际垂直分工等因素导致了出口增加值隐含碳的增长。交叉项检验表明,研发强度较高的行业出口技术升级会显著降低出口增加值隐含碳,外商直接投资、煤炭消耗占比、资本劳动占比较高的行业出口技术升级会导致出口增加值隐含碳的增加。     

Determinants of Net Trade Flows in the OECD: New Evidence with Special Emphasis on the Former Communist Members

This study estimates an econometric panel-data model, in order to explore the capacity of some of the hypotheses formulated in recent dynamic models of trade and economic growth to explain the bilateral trade of OECD countries. The study suggests that the larger a country's endowment of both tangible and intangible (human and technological) capital in relation to that of its trade partners, the higher the export/import ratio of its bilateral trade. It also shows that direct investment enhances the export/import ratio with the host country. The former communist countries reflect only minor differences from the other OECD members.     

Simultaneous estimation of income and price elasticities of export demand,scale economies and total factor productivity growth for Brazil

This article focuses on a growth model in which (unlike other models) low (high) export demand elasticities and the fact that developing countries are importers of capital goods help explaining the slow (high) growth of these countries in the transition and in the steady state. The question arises whether export demand elasticities are low or high. For answering this question, export demand elasticities for the case of Brazil are obtained by estimation of the model. As a by-product of estimating the model, we obtain estimates for total-factor productivity growth and for scale economies. Based on the results from estimation we calculate steady-state growth rates, engine and handmaiden effects of growth as well as dynamic steady-state gains from trade. The model and the results are discussed in regard to several strands of literature.     

Similarity in trade structures,integration and catching‐up1

In this paper, we look at the role of export composition in the growth process, considering how increased similarity in trade structure among countries can induce catching‐up in income levels in a group of countries in transition. We analyze the sectoral export patterns of the Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) by comparing them to those of the current members of the European Union (EU), focusing on countries’ specialization as suppliers for the EU market, and we assess whether similar export patterns foster the catching‐up process of the CEECs. Our main result is that similarity in export composition has a positive, significant and non‐linear impact on catching‐up, and seems to be driven by the growth of the main export market and delocalization of production more than by other factors.     

基于VAR模型的人力资本与我国服务贸易出口关系的实证分析

人力资本到底能在多大程度上推动我国服务贸易的出口?目前国内学者对此研究的较少并且存在一定的争议。笔者利用1985年～2010年的时间序列数据进行实证分析,发现我国服务贸易的快速增长产生了对人力资本的长期大量的需求,而我国现存的大量人力资本对服务出口的贡献率却不太显著。因此,切实快速提高我国人力资本的质量是提高我国服务贸易国际竞争力的关键所在。     

On the impact of trade openness on growth: further evidence from OECD countries

This study attempts to examine empirically the implications of the degree of openness for total and individual factor productivity growth in a group of 19 OECD countries over the last three decades. The study combines both time series and cross-sectional data. The model employed is a generalization of the commonly used, growth-accounting model based on the concept of an aggregate production function in which the rate of economic growth is a function of capital and labour accumulation and total factor productivity. It is explicitly assumed that total factor productivity depends, in turn, upon the rate of export expansion. The model is then estimated using the random coefficients approach. While results generally indicate that the relative importance of trade openness on economic growth varies significantly across countries, they also indicate that the role of capital and labour accumulation in fostering economic growth varies with the degree of openness, cross-sectionally as well as across time.     

生产分工视角的中国对美国货物出口竞争力验证

考虑生产分工对中美间经贸联系程度、贸易规模和结构的影响,基于生产分工下价值链视角,构建出口竞争力测度指标体系,验证中国对美国货物出口竞争力。结果显示:2016年及之前,中国仅在杂项制品大类上,对美国显示出较强出口竞争力,机械和运输设备、动物和植物油、油脂和蜡我国具有比较优势,化学成品及有关产品、按原料分类的制成品双方竞争性较强,其余大类上,中国对美国出口竞争力不具优势。引入其他国家作对比的分析结果表明:中国对对比国家均无显著出口竞争力,而且对美国出口具有单价优势的资本技术密集型产品,对这些国家出口多缺乏单价优势,而2017年以来对美国和对比国家的贸易变化,进一步勾画出中国对美国货物出口竞争力不足。在生产分工主导全球产业发展背景下,提升我国在全球生产分工中的参与地位,宜强化自主技术研发、提升外资质量和技术外溢、加快"走出去"学习先进技术。     

Heckscher-Ohlin Theory or the Modern Trade Theory: How the Overall Trade Characterizes at the Global Level?

This paper has two objectives: to locate the global trade pattern and to compute the export potential of world economies. Considering the maximum number of countries and maintaining a good representative sample of the overall international trade, an empirical examination is conducted by utilizing the trade complementary index and the per-capita income variable in the standard gravity model. The main aim is to determine which of the two theoretical frameworks―either the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, which is based on factor endowments or the Modern Trade theory of Krugman-Helpman and Linder, based on the intra-industry trade―is explaining the overall global trade flows. The estimated results support the factor endowments trade theory. In other words, the observed trade patterns conform to the Heckscher-Ohlin theory of trade over intra-industry Modern trade theories. The inference drawn is based on the significantly positive coefficient of the trade complementarity index and the absolute differenced PCI variable. Furthermore, as far as export potential is concerned, there exists a vast scope for the export potential across economies. These countries can exploit the existing export potential through trade cooperation and integration at the regional and the bilateral level.

     

Trade partner diversification and growth: How trade links matter

We analyze the effects of a country’s export connections on its income growth using trade partner diversification (TPD) measures that capture the country’s relative importance in the international trade network. On top of the standard trade openness measures, TPD measures are shown to enter growth regressions positively and significantly, where one standard deviation increase in TPD is associated with a 1–1.5 percentage point increase in the annual growth rate. Threshold analyses show that TPD measures are positively and significantly correlated with growth in countries that have low financial depth, high inflation, low levels of human capital, or high trade openness.     

China’s rise,asymmetric trade shocks and exchange rate regimes

China’s rapid growth provides a natural experiment to study the effects of asymmetric trade shocks on the competitiveness of OECD countries. The different levels of exposure to Chinese trade competition, as measured using an index of export similarity, triggered asymmetric shocks as China’s trade surged. Motivated by a Ricardian framework, this paper finds that countries with exports similar to those of China experience a loss in competitiveness compared with countries with a different trade structure. Once an additional layer of distinction is introduced between fixed and flexible exchange rate regimes, I find that countries with a fixed exchange rate and with relatively high similarity to China experience a real appreciation.     

Regional Integration Agreements,Trade Flows and Economic Crisis: A Static and Dynamic Gravity Model

Regional trade agreements (RTA) strengthening is a crucial component of the contemporary global economy. These agreements are considered beneficial in many senses (economics: trade, FDI, growth, etc.) and are a stabilizing factor in international relations (politics). In this paper, I study the effects of RTAs on exports between members and non-members taking into account the Viner specification. I also try to estimate the effect of the recent economic crisis on the export flows and achievement of RTAs. I use a static and dynamic gravity model to 40 countries belonging to 6 heterogeneous RTAs for the period 1980–2011. This model is estimated taking into account the latest estimation techniques that treats endogeneity effects of integration and the existence of dynamic effect.     

Human Capital Accumulation In the Middle-Income Country and World Trade*

I construct a dynamic three-country model of trade and growth in which a worker determines how long he takes training. the path of human capital accumulation of a worker is analyzed. I consider the case in which per capita human capital grows in the middle-income country while it stagnates in the high-income and low-income countries. Effects of the middle-income country's growth are studied.     

The Losses from Trade Restrictions: Policy Dynamics with Firm Selection and Endogenous Markup

In this paper, I explore the aggregate effects of trade restrictions in a two‐country, dynamic, general equilibrium (DGE) model with firm selection and variable adjustment of markup. As a response to the trade collapse in the global crisis of 2008 and 2009, temporary trade restrictions have emerged in several countries. With analyzing the dynamics of a negative macroeconomic shock in the home economy first, and the subsequent introduction of trade restrictions in the foreign economy second, I show that both economies are in a worse position than they were during the economic downturn. The follow‐ups to the recession and trade restrictions are investigated through three mechanisms: (1) variable markup as a new avenue of increasing competitive pressure for producers (e.g. more competitive firms lower their markups); (2) average individual firms' specific productivity cut‐off, which induces their optimum export choice (e.g. an increase in the export productivity cut‐off means exporting becomes more difficult than before.); and (3) the movement of international relative prices (e.g. the real exchange rate and terms of trade).     

贸易增速下降之"谜"——基于全球价值链分工视角的解释

当前,全球贸易增速出现了大幅下降,这难以简单地从危机冲击及其后续影响层面进行解读.实际上,贸易的基础是分工,看待当前全球贸易失速现象理应深入到国际分工层面.鉴于此,文章构建理论模型以刻画上述现象及其成因,研究发现:(1)全球价值链分工演进的阶段性变化对贸易增速具有深刻影响,当分工深化到一定程度后,贸易规模扩大的"基数效应"和分工深化的"边际效应"会导致贸易增速下降;(2)对单个国家来说,价值链攀升也会影响贸易增速.进一步地,利用跨国面板数据的计量分析表明:(1)在有效控制其他影响因素的条件下,全球价值链分工深化的程度对贸易增速呈倒"U"形的非线性影响;(2)价值链攀升对单个经济体的贸易增速具有显著的负面影响.由此可知,在当前全球经济处于深度调整的特殊时期,价值链分工深化趋势减缓乃至"停滞",是导致当前全球贸易失速的根本原因之一;而中国的外贸失速除了受到上述因素影响外,还与自身的价值链升级有关.因此,面临全球贸易增速下降的压力,中国外贸发展亟待转型升级,充分发挥"稳定"全球贸易增长的应有作用.     

Trade,growth and income redistribution: A case study of India

The concern of this exercise is with the effectiveness of trade policies and their assessment in achieving economic growth and income equality. A link between growth and equality is provided through employment. If there is substantial increase in employment, the inequality of income distribution is likely to be reduced. Thus, trade by bringing about higher levels of production and employment may reduce income inequality. We have applied a closed input-output model to the Indian data to estimate the interrelationships between trade, growth and income redistribution. It has been found that employment opportunities could be raised substantially through redistribution as well as through export promotion in developing countries such as India, if capital and foreign exchange constraints are not binding. Import substitution, however, does not turn out to be as effective a strategy to achieve these goals.     

全球经济失衡的调整趋势 ——基于美国中心的视角

本文对以美国为中心的全球经济失衡模式进行了趋势性分析。尽管外部失衡呈现出周期性的调整，但这些调整过程也是围绕着美国的经济和利益中心而展开的。对于美国而言，它并不需要刻意对其逆差大小进行调整，而主要通过金融渠道的资本流动收益为其贸易逆差提供融资；其外部失衡的调整是贸易失衡对象的转换，而不是贸易余额的逆转。对于顺差方，外部失衡的调整意味着贸易条件的恶化和经济结构的调整，出口贸易地位将逐步被弱化和替代。以美国为中心的全球经济失衡模式将继续存在，除非美元崩溃和美国经济霸主地位丧失。     

Effects of Trade and Financial Links on the Transmission of GDP Growth

Using panel analysis of quarterly data from 14 developed countries between 1980 and 2012, I examine the channels by which GDP growth transmission has taken place, and how the transmission of growth has varied with time and global growth. I find that countries with large, open banking sectors and trade deficits tend to transmit growth more strongly than other countries. Transmission effects seem to have become stronger over time and are stronger in periods of slow economic growth.