Intra-competition between the Asian Four Little Dragons in US Markets

Using an optimizing model of import demands, the degree of competition between the Four Little Dragons in the US market are examined. This paper finds that the exports by Hong Kong can be substituted by Taiwan, and vice versa. Hong Kong and Singapore have some degree of substitution, although Singapore tends to have low elasticities of substitution with Taiwan and South Korea. Moreover, the relatively low own-price elasticities for Singapore and South Korea indicate their exporting goods are up-scaled. This suggests that non-price factors like product quality may be of importance in penetrating the US market.