The role of R&D in high-technology trade: An empirical analysis

Conclusion This paper attempts to establish the relationship between the level of R&D activities of a country and its trade performance in high-technology products. Empirical evidence based on the limited data used in the paper shows that this relationship appears to be quite significant. An analysis of the implications of this relationship reveals that the low level of R&D in Canada is due to, among other factors, the prevalence of foreign ownership of Canadian manufacturing industries, and the resource-based characteristic of the Canadian economy. Given the nature of foreign-owned firms, the paper suggests that countries should not rely on them as a crucial instrument in the creation of an indigenous capacity to produce high-technology products which are competitive at the world level. Instead, domestic policies aimed at the development and nurturing of the countries' own scientific and technological skills are required. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author. They should not be construed as the official views of the Ministry of State for Science and Technology of the Government of Canada. Research assistance provided by Tom Wudwud and Penny Robinson is well appreciated. The author, however, is responsible for any omissions or errors that remain.     

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.     

Tests of the empirical classification of horizontal and vertical intra-industry trade

Tests of the Empirical Classification of Horizontal and Vertical IntraIndustry Trade. — Using longitudinal data this paper shows the separation of international trade in (a) inter-industry trade, (b) horizontal intra-industry trade, and (c) vertical intra-industry trade used in the empirical trade literature to be non-stable at the individual product level. The high level of vertical intra-industry trade mentioned in the empirical literature probably covers up many products shifting between e.g. vertical and horizontal intra-industry trade. The paper therefore questions the work of the last decade in the measurement of intra-industry trade.     

Quality differentiation and factor proportions in international trade: An empirical test of the Swedish case

Review of World Economics -     

The factor content of north-south trade in manufactures reconsidered

Zusammen fassung Nochmals zum Faktorgehalt des Nord-Süd-Handels mit Industrieprodukten. — In den konventionellen Berechnungen des Faktorgehalts der international gehandelten Güter werden die Wirkungen, die der Nord-Süd-Handel mit Industriegütern auf die Struktur der Nachfrage nach heimischen Produktionsfaktoren ausübt, erheblich untersch?tzt. In diesem Artikel wird eine modifizierte Methode entwickelt, die mehr als sonst üblich nicht-konkurrierende Importe einbezieht. Danach ist die positive Ansto\wirkung des Handels auf die relative Nachfrage nach ungelernten Arbeitskr?ften im Süden ungef?hr sechsmal, die negative Ansto\wirkung im Norden ungef?hr zehnmal gr?\er, als konventionelle Berechnungen ergeben. Dieser Befund k?nnte bedeutende Folgerungen für andere ?konomische Forschungsgebiete und für die Wirtschaftspolitik haben.

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Résumé Le facteur-contenu du commerce Nord-Sud des produits industriels — une reconsidération. — Les calculations conventionnelles du facteur-contenu du commerce international sous-estiment largement les effets du commerce Nord-Sud des produits industriels sur la demande de facteurs intérieurs de la production. Pour le facteur-contenu, on a développé une méthode modifiée qui se concentre aux importations non-compétitives. Cette méthode propose que l'effet sur la demande relative de main-d'∄uvre non-qualifiée est au Sud environ six fois, au Nord environ dix fois plus grand que les calculations conventionnelles indiquent. De ce résultat on peut tirer des conclusions importantes pour d'autres recherches économiques et pour la politique.

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Resumen Una reconsideration del contenido de factores del comercio en manufacturas Norte-Sur. — Las calculaciones convencionales del contenido de factores del comercio subestiman bastante los efectos del comercio Norte-Sur en manufacturas sobre la composición de la demanda de factores de producción domésticos. Se desarrolla un método modificado que se concentra en las importaciones no competitivas. Este método sugiere que el impacto sobre la demanda relativa de la mano de obra no calificada es seis veces más grande en el Sur que lo que las calculaciones convencionales indican y alrededor de diez veces más grande en el Norte. Este resultado podria tener importantes implicaciones para otros campos de la ciencia económica y para la política.

     

Brazil's twin deficits: An empirical examination

This paper examines empirically the causal relationship between budget deficits and trade deficits for Brazil from 1973:1Q through 1991:4Q. This relationship is investigated in the context of Granger's test of causality. The final prediction error criterion, as outlined by Hsiao [1981], is applied in determining the appropriate lag length of the two variables. Empirical results suggested the presence of bilateral causality between trade deficits and budget deficits.     

An empirical examination of IPO underpricing in the Chinese A-share market

Research in the literature shows that initial public offerings (IPOs) of common stocks are systematically priced at a discount to their subsequent initial trading price. The large underpricing magnitude in the Chinese IPO market has attracted much attention. We consider three hypotheses that may explain the IPO underpricing in China. These are the winner's curse hypothesis, the ex ante uncertainty hypothesis and the signaling hypothesis. Among these hypotheses, the winner's curse hypothesis has not been tested in the Chinese market. Using IPO data for online fixed-price offerings from November 1995 to December 1998, our results show that the winner's curse hypothesis is the main reason for the high IPO underpricing in China. The signaling hypothesis is not empirically supported in the Chinese market during the sample period.     

Trade within an industry in the presence of vertical product differentiation and dynamic increasing returns

This paper investigates a case of trade with dynamic learning, a continuum of varieties of a vertically differentiated product, and two countries differing only slightly in population size. The results are as follows. Since increasing returns continuously allow consumers to afford higher-quality versions of the good, a quality-based product cycle is generally required for the two initial market shares to persist over time; however, with dynamic learning the conditions for such a cycle to take place are severe. Then, in spite of the self-reinforcing nature of the pattern of spezialization, one of the two countries' market segments (the lower-quality one) is likely to shrink endogenously over time.     

Intra-Industry trade and limited producer horizons: An empirical investigation

Intra-Industry Trade and Limited Producer Horizons: An Empirical Investigation. — Following three decades of growing integration, intra-European trade has expanded significantly. Much of the growth has been in intra-industry trade (ITT). ITT appears to be causally correlated with integration, one possible link being through the impact of market integration on producer horizons. This paper applies the limited producer horizons hypothesis as a possible explanation of movements in IIT in an important class of differentiated products. It finds evidence in support of the hypothesis for some, but not all, countries in the EC.     

International trade and factor intensity uniformity: An empirical assessment

Zusammenfassung Internationaler Handel und die Einheitlichkeit der Faktorintensit?ten. Eine empirische überprüfung. - Die Vorstellung, da? in allen L?ndern die Technologien identisch sind, ist ein Pfeiler der neoklassischen Theorie des internationalen Handels. Empirische Arbeiten verwenden h?ufig die Produktionsstruktur eines Landes als N?herungswert für die Technologie in allen anderen L?ndern. Dagegen behaupten die Autoren, da? die Annahme einheitlicher Faktorintensit?ten aus empirischen Gründen nicht gerechtfertigt sei und als Grundlage für theoretische Modelle aufgegeben werden sollte. Sie testen, ob die Faktorintensit?ten einheitlich gleich sind, indem sie Input-Output-Daten für die OECD-L?nder verwenden. Dann entwickeln sie- als eine Alternative zu den Modellen, die auf einheitlicher Faktorintensit?t beruhenein dynamisches disaggregiertes ricardianisches Modell, das dazu bestimmt ist, die Beziehung zwischen dem technischen Fortschritt und den Ver?nderungen in der Zusammensetzung des internationalen Handels zu erfassen.

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Résumé Le commerce international et l’uniformité de l’intensité de facteur-Une évaluation empirique. - L’idée de technologies identiques à travers les pays est un élément considérable de la théorie néoclassique du commerce international. Les analyses empiriques souvent assument la structure de production d’un seul pays comme approximation de la technologie dans tous les autres pays. Dans cette étude, les auteurs trouvent que la supposition d’une intensité de facteur uniforme n’est pas justifiée pour des raisons empiriques et devrait être abandonnée comme une base d'un modèle théorique. En utilisant des données input-output des pays de l’OCED, les auteurs font des tests simples de l’uniformité d’intensité de facteur. Comme alternative aux modèles basés sur l’uniformité de l’intensité de facteur, les auteurs développent un modèle Ricardian dynamique et disaggrégé pour saisir la relation entre le progrès technologique et les changements dans la composition du commerce international.

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Resumen Comercio international y uniformidad de la intensidad de factores. Un estudio empirico. - La noción de la existencia de igual tecnología en todos los países es uno de los pilares de la teoría neoclásica del comercio international. En trabajos empíricos a menudo se adopta la estructura de productión de un país para aproximar la tecnología en todos los demás países. En este trabajo se argumenta que el supuesto de la uniformidad de la intensidad de factores (UIF) no se justifica desde el punto de vista empírico y que debería ser abandonado como fundamento de los modelos teóricos. Se llevan a cabo tests simples de la UIF utilizando datos de insumo producto de los países de la OECD. Se desarrolla un modelo ricardiano dinámico y desagregado, dise?ado para capturar la relación entre el cambio tecnológico y los cambios en la compositión del comercio, como una alternativa a los modelos basados en la UIF.

     

农产品国际贸易争端及其影响因素的实证研究

本文以世贸组织成立以来诉诸WTO争端解决机构(DSB)的农产品争端为主要研究对象,运用Logistic回归模型对农产品贸易争端发生的影响因素进行了实证研究。结果表明,农业资源禀赋特征、国家经济发展水平(即国家经济实力的差异)、国家农业有效政治力量的不同,对农产品贸易争端的发生有显著影响。     

The impact of ECOWAS on intraregional trade flows: An empirical investigation

There is a scarcity of published statistical analysis that examines the impact of economic integration schemes in Africa. This study fills the gap in the literature. The impact of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on trade flows of its member countries is examined applying an econometric analysis. The parameters of a multivariate trade-flows model are estimated using a panel data of the 1975 to 1991 period. The results suggest that the regional integration scheme has succeeded in increasing trade flows between member countries. The general view in the literature is that African integration schemes have failed to increase trade flows.     

Innovation, product quality, variety, and trade performance: an empirical analysis of Germany and the UK

Using the framework of the new trade and endogenous growth theories,this paper finds that factors such as innovation and productquality-proxied by variables such as relative R&D and patentingactivity-help to explain the determination of import volumesfor both Germany and the UK. The econometric work makes an originalcontribution to this area of research by using bilateral importvolume data disaggregated to the four-digit ISIC level.     

An empirical examination of the effects of the U.S. dollar depreciation on the United States-Japan trade balance, with a control for auto quality diffe

This paper models the effect on the U.S. — Japan trade balance in manufactures of the shift during the 80's from a strong to a weak dollar regime, while controlling for the effects of changes in auto quality across U.S. and Japanese new passenger autos. U.S. auto imports are broken out from other manufactures, and auto prices adjusted to control for quality by means of a quasi-hedonic equation. Limited empirical evidence does suggest that using a quality-adjusted auto relative price, in place of a relative price term with no quality adjustment, increases the ability to explain variations of auto import demand. Changes in the U.S. dollar/yen rate give rise to a J-curve effect from 1985 to 1987, and a similar but more negative pattern holds when quality is not controlled for. The effect of positive U.S. auto quality change, ceteris paribus, is also investigated, and is found to have a substantial deficit reducing effect.     

Economic openness and trade linkages of China: An empirical study of the determinants of chinese trade intensities from 1993 to 1999

In the 1980s, the Chinese regime took a number of piecemeal steps toward economic liberalization. This process accelerated impressively in the 1990s. This paper reports an empirical study into the determinants of the emerging pattern of Chinese trade (export and import) intensities in the liberalization decade by exploring international trade statistics for 1993 and 1999. Four models are estimated that explain the shifts in the export and import intensities of the trade with different trade partners in the 1993–1999 period. The estimation results reveal differences for export vis-à-vis import trade intentities, as well as for 1993 compared to 1999. For example, the political determinants of trade intensities that were still very important in 1993 have been moved to the background by economic explanations in 1999. JEL no. F14