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This paper aims to analyze the evolution of the trilateral trade relationship between Mexico, the United States and China, and its main characteristics, from 1993 to 2020, through the application of vector autoregressive (VAR) models at different points in time. More specifically, trade links between these economies have been transformed from a first phase of little significance to a second phase with profound interrelationships since 2001, and finally to a current consolidation stage, despite the current increasingly complex environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of the data on import, export and total import and export volume of Jiangxi Province and 24 Belt and Road participating countries selected from the IMF database between 2005 and 2015, this paper analyzes the fundamental patterns of trade of Jiangxi Province and Belt and Road countries. By applying the Composite Trade Share Index and the HM Index, this paper also analyzes the trade dependence and symmetry between the two sides. The study shows that: (1) Trade relations between Jiangxi and Belt and Road countries are getting much closer and their trade volume has grown by nearly 20 times from 2005 to 2015. (2) The trade dependence between Jiangxi Province and such areas as Southeast Asia, West Asia and the Middle East is relatively high and has been increasing year by year. The Composite Trade Share Index of Jiangxi Province with Southeast Asia increased from 5.99% in 2005 to 16.06% in 2015 and that with West Asia and the Middle East from 4.48% to 8.19%. (3) Jiangxi Province depends more on countries along the Belt and Road than vice versa regarding export, which demonstrates noticeable asymmetry of dependence between these two sides. Of these countries, Jiangxi Province depends mostly on six countries in Southeast Asia, followed by eight in West Asia and the Middle East, and then by four in South Asia. Last but not the least, this paper also puts forward corresponding measures and suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Support and promotion of export are key elements of sustainable development, export representing at the moment growth domestic main engine. The objectives of the paper were to analyze the activities of foreign trade and economic cooperation, and the support for the domestic economic development and harmonious integration of Romania into the complex system of international relations. The methods used in this paper were: comparative analysis, bibliographic study and processing of the statistical data from the National Statistics Institute in order to generate some proposals for developing a future strategy for promoting Romanian food products on foreign markets. The main results refer to the situation of agriculture in recent years, the situation of export and import of agricultural products. The main conclusion is that the rising of prices represents an opportunity for countries with strong agricultural sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the relative sophistication of the Korean export products in manufacturing industry both across and within products between 1989 and 2012 using the very detailed United States import data. I first compare Korea's export performance in the US market in terms of market share, product penetration and export similarity to those of its rival countries. Next, I propose far more extensive estimates of difference in export quality between Korea and its trading rivals. The estimated quality difference reveals substantial heterogeneity across products and countries. In particular, this paper shows that the current greatest competitor of Korea is still Japan in the US market, but China is steadily climbing up the quality ladder and is chasing after Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spectacular scale and speed of China's domestic renewable energy capacity development and technology catch-up has in recent years been followed by the 'go out' of Chinese clean energy technology firms seeking new markets and opportunities in sub- Saharan Africa. This paper explores the growing involvement of China in the development and transfer of renewable energy technologies in Africa and examines the key drivers and obstacles shaping Chinese renewable energy investments and exports. Far from there being some kind of grand or harmonious strategy directed by a single monolithic state, we argue that fragmented and decentralised state apparatuses and quasi-market actors in China are increasingly pursuing their own independent interests and agendas around renewable energy in Africa in ways often marked by conflict, inconsistency and incoherence. Moving beyond the state-centric analysis common in much of the research on contemporary China-Africa relations, we examine the motivations of a range of non-state and quasi-state actors, as well their different perceptions and constructions of risk, policy environments and political stability in recipient countries. The paper explores the case study example of South Africa, where Chinese firms have become increasingly significant in the diffusion of renewable energy technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically examines the impacts of trade liberalization policy on the sophistication level of Vietnam's exports from 2001 to 2010. The export sophistication measure proposed by Hausmann and co-workers is computed by using the disaggregated trade data. By descriptive analysis, this indicator reveals that Vietnam's export structure was similar to that of Indonesia and the Philippines and then became much more similar to Thailand after Vietnam's accession to World Trade Organization (WTO). In addition, this paper econometrically analyzes the effects of trade liberalization on Vietnam's industry-level export sophistication with the additional consideration of its WTO accession in 2007. This paper suggests that tariff reductions have a positive impact on the sophistication level of Vietnam's industry exports. Trade liberalization has a stronger impact on the nonmanufacturing sectors than on manufacturing sectors. However, the results also imply that the WTO membership does not have any additional effects on Vietnam's industry export sophistication. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Global trade growth has slowed since 2012 relative both to its strong historical performance and to overall economic growth. This paper aims to quantify the role of weak economic growth and changes in its decomposition in accounting for the slowdown in trade using a reduced form and a structural approach. Both analytical investigations suggest that the overall weakness in economic activity, particularly investment, has been the primary restraint on trade growth, accounting for about 80% of the decline in the growth of the volume of goods trade between 2012-2016 and 2003-2007. However, other factors are also weighing on trade in recent years, especially in emerging market and developing economies, as evidenced by the non-negligible role attributed to trade costs by the structural approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU and Canada represent the largest market in the world for the sale of ecological products attracting exports from many third countries and recording a total sale of 95% of the worldwide total market. The European market for ecological products - also known as "bio" / "eco" - in absolute figures - is somewhere around 20 billiards euro/year, and in the case of Romania, the market for those products varies around 200 million euro/year. According to European legislation, there are harmonized provisions and procedures for the import of ecological products which can be implemented in two ways: either by complying with the EU legislation on ecologic products, or based on the equivalence between the existent standards and control systems. In many European countries, the operators on such a market obey the rules established by Legislation for ecologic productions strictly. In Romania, a sanctioning system against those economic operators who fraudulently use product labels suggesting they are organic products has just recently been considered. Taking into consideration all these aspects, the present paper relies on the most recent bibliographic and statistical references in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With China's accession to the WTO in 2001, Russia is by far that organization's most prominent nonmember. This paper applies the gravity model to gauge whether this ‘outsider’ status has been affecting Russia's export structure. On the basis of cross-section and panel regressions for 1995–2002, we find that Russian exports to WTO members have fallen short of the model's predictions. The paper discusses possible explanations of this result, including Russia's exclusion from various WTO procedures, although own-export restrictions could have a similar effect. The model points to Russia's further trade reorientation toward WTO members after a putative accession. Our results also prompt some ideas that may clarify the recent empirical controversy over the WTO's overall role in promoting trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper utilizes the heterogeneous common factor models to investigate the asymmetric impacts of RMB exchange rate on the exports based on the export data classified by HS 2 digits from January 2001 to December 2008. The results show that the impacts of RMB exchange rate on Chinese exports vary with the exports of processing commodities. The appreciation of RMB will have a negative effect on the exports with small proportion of processing commodities. However, this negative impacts will decrease when the proportion of export on processing commodities increases. This paper also explains why the RMB5s appreciation has a positive impact on Chinese export and a large number of firms find it hard to operate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess asymmetric effects of exchange rate changes on Thailand’s trade balances.Design/methodology/approach The design methodology is based on the nonlinear ARDL approach of Shin et al. (2014).Findings The authors find strong support for the asymmetric effects of exchange rate changes on the Thailand trade balance with most partners, including the three largest partners, China, Japan and the USA.Research limitations/implications The long-run asymmetric effects revealed that while baht depreciation will hurt Thailand’s trade balance with China, it will improve its trade balance with the USA and has no effects with Japan.Practical implications The trade balance of different partners reacts differently to currency depreciation.Social implications A currency depreciation that improves the trade balance by promoting exports also helps to reduce the rate of unemployment.Originality/value No study has assessed the asymmetric effects of exchange rate changes on the Thailand’s trade balance with its major partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tries to identify the impact of the different types of innovation on export behavior in the Colombian food and beverage industry. The application of the propensity score matching method reveals that only technological innovation has a significant effect on the sector's export behavior. In particular, product innovation impacts positively the internationalization of large companies, while process innovation does so in SMEs. The differences in strategic and innovative strategy explain the heterogeneity in the impacts obtained by the size of business and the type of innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beside traditional motives of giving - namely, altruism and donors' self-interest, foreign aid also serves to encourage poor countries to liberalize trade. In this paper, I use recent foreign aid data from 15 European donors to 45 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP) to assess the importance of each motive. Although all the motives are important, their relative importance varies from one sub-group of donors to another. In particular, big donors such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom seem toweight more their commercial interests than other European donors; besides, recipient needs appear to be less important. Contrary to other European donors, international cooperation, measured by the correlation in the votes at the United Nations General Assemblies influences their decision to allocate aid to ACP recipients. This last finding probably reflects their relatively high political power in international fora. Finally, I introduce a dummy variable for economic partnership agreement (EPA) and find that donors do not give to support trade liberalization per se. However, large donors give more aid to ACP exporters of raw materials that engage in the EPA. This result implies that foreign aid is a device to secure access to raw materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The BRICS alliance has been formally set up in order to fulfill both economic and geostrategic functions. Even if the latter are more significant than the former, the actual BRICS cooperation framework adds value to the theoretical concept of partnerships for economic development. The group includes four of the largest emerging economies worldwide therefore an analysis of the BRICS from the perspective of quantitative and qualitative indicators is useful at a time when traditional sources of economic growth are not taken for granted any more. The main objective of the present paper is to capture BRICS' shares in world gross product, trade and investment flows and also the strengths and weaknesses of the five emerging economies from the standpoint of specific indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of economic factors on bilateral trade flows between Malaysia and the GCC through estimations of panel data using a gravity model. In particular, the paper compares the determinants of bilateral trade and trade potentials between Malaysia and two regions, the non-traditional Gulf alliance and the traditional ASEAN counterpart, to provide insights for leveraging opportunities through trade with the former. The gravity estimates imply the importance of size effects, similarities in GDP and differences in factor endowments as drivers of trade flows between Malaysia and the GCC, underlying the fact that inter-industry trade dominates these flows. The opposite holds in the case for the Malaysia–ASEAN trade. Though export potentials for industrial products per se appear exhausted in trade with both regions, the Gulf region provides opportunities for Malaysia to export quantity-based final (end-use) products and to diversify its exporting strategy away from quality-based parts and components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary To investigate whether Africa’s exports to China influence labor practices in Africa, we reconsider the debate over trade’s influence on regulatory standards in exporting countries. The first generation of trade–regulation scholars asked whether high levels of exports influenced regulatory standards of exporting countries, with inconclusive results. The second generation of scholarship focused not on how much a country exported but to whom it exported, identifying a “California Effect” by which firms and consumers in (mostly developed) importing countries projected their high regulatory standards on less developed export partners. Structural change—especially the rise of China as a major importer—poses a challenge to these optimistic findings. Drawing on insights from the analysis of compositional data, this paper introduces a third generation of trade–regulation research, which suggests examining not only with whom a country trades, but also how the composition of markets in a country’s export basket reshuffles over time. Specifically, we explore the possibility of a “Shanghai Effect” whereby African countries begin to reflect the lower labor standards of China, which has emerged as a major destination for their exports. We show that when a country increases exports to China, the net effect on domestic labor standards depends critically on the labor practices of other export destinations compositionally displaced by China exports. Our analysis of a panel of 49 African countries for the period 1985–2010 produces a small continent-wide estimate of China’s negative influence on African labor practices. In-sample simulation at the country level uncovers a moderate Shanghai Effect for a handful of countries only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The Marshall-Lerner (M-L) condition, which stipulates that a devaluation or depreciation of its currency will improve a country's trade balance only if the sum of the absolute values of a country's import and export price elasticities are greater than one, is a fundamental tenet of international economics. The purpose of this study is to survey the literature that has tested the M-L condition, examining in particular whether previous studies' results are statistically significant. The authors then conduct their own estimation of 29 countries' trade elasticities, over the past few decades. Design/methodology/approach – While mostly a review paper, the paper also applies statistical techniques in two ways. First, the authors use t-tests on previously-published statistical results to see if the sums of their elasticities are significantly greater than one. The authors also apply the recently developed ARDL cointegration method, which has a number of attractive statistical properties, to estimate 29 countries' long-run import and export elasticities and test the M-L condition using recent data. Findings – The authors re-estimation using previous studies' coefficients and standard errors shows that, although the point estimates in many studies suggest that the M-L condition is met, it really is not met in half of the cases. This lack of evidence is confirmed with the authors' own empirical tests. Research limitations/implications – Not only does this paper collect the relevant literature in a way that will assist future researchers on the topic, these findings suggest that support for the M-L condition is much weaker that commonly thought. This therefore makes an important contribution to thinking regarding the potential benefits of devaluation, and to economic theory in general. Practical implications – Policymakers who hope to improve their countries' competitive position could benefit from learning that this policy is indeed less effective than might be supposed. This could lead to the implementation of more effective economic policies. Originality/value – As a literature review, the originality of this paper is that it collects relevant studies into one single paper. The statistical analyses allow the reader to re-interpret these studies' findings in a new light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1830's the Ottoman government initiated a series of liberalization measures, including several trade agreements, aimed at integrating domestic economy to the world economy. The agreement known as the Treaty of Balta Liman has been subject to numerous debates. Many scholars argue that this agreement was an indication of the economic collapse in the State because of worsening the trade account and external debt position and also the liberalization reforms caused the State to loose political and economic independence and to collapse soon afterwards. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the long-run relationship between exports and imports in the Ottoman state for the period of 1840-1913 using Engle and Granger (1987) and Johansen and Juselius (1990) co-integration tests to determine whether the macroeconomic policies and liberalization reforms applied by the State were effective in making the trade deficit a short-run phenomenon. The co-integration test results indicate that there exists a stable long-run relationship between exports and imports of the Ottoman State for the period of 1840-1913. The existence of long-run relationship between exports and imports in the Ottoman State implies that the Treaty of Balta Liman is not responsible for worsening external debt position of the Ottoman State. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Bilateral trade between Egypt and China has expanded substantially in recent years. Few studies however have focused on the understanding of this trade relationship. The purpose of this paper is to fill a void in the literature by examining and understanding the two countries' trade pattern. Design/methodology/approach – In order to achieve the objectives of the paper, and in the light of the pool of literature and availability of data, the authors relied on qualitative methods to analyze the composition of trade between Egypt and China. In addition, the authors employed trade intensity index, intra-industry trade index, and examined the trade complementarity to capture the dynamics and perspectives of bilateral trade between the two countries. Findings – Results show low values in Egypt's trade intensity index, implying that Egyptian trade with China is less than it should be. The low values of the intra-industry trade index suggest smaller trade between the two countries' firms in the same industry. The study clearly shows that there are few areas where there is an overlap in the two countries' comparative advantage. The trade complementarity analysis tends to suggest that the complementarity for China to export to Egypt is increasing, while that for Egypt to export to China is declining. Originality/value – Given the lack of research that examines and compares trade between the two countries, the paper provides an in-depth understanding of the patterns of trade between them and the driving forces behind such dynamics, which is pertinent to best capture the opportunities presented by the Chinese market. Also, the findings can be used to draw policy implications for promoting future trade and cooperation between Egypt and China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the Turkish export-led growth hypothesis is examined from the trade liberalisation process initiated in 1980. The paper has employed Toda and Yamamoto (1995) procedure for testing for Granger non-causality in the augmented vector autoregressive (VAR) methodology to analyze the dynamic relationship between export growth and economic growth in Turkey using quarterly data from 1989 to 2006. The empirical results support the export-led growth hypothesis for Turkey and that Granger causal flow is unidirectional from real exports to real GDP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the development of Lithuania's foreign trade in the time period of 1995-2008. It discusses European Union's foreign trade policy and the process of Lithuania's integration into its trade system. The comparative analysis of Lithuania's export and import flows has been carried out. Using the method of the theory of constraints, a thorough investigation of the foreign trade has been carried out during which the major country's foreign trade problems that hinder the effective functioning of this economic area have been determined. The paper provides the conclusions concerning the functioning of Lithuania's foreign trade and suggestions as to how this functioning could be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pundits and scholars have long debated the effectiveness of foreign aid: does it lead to economic growth or is it simply throwing money 'down the rat hole'? This paper re-invigorates the debate by examining the question through a new lens. Rather than examining the effectiveness of general foreign aid on economic growth, this paper tests the impact of targeted foreign aid on a narrower economic activity. Specifically, this paper investigates the impact of United States trade capacity building aid. This targeted aid aims to increase recipient countries' exporting capacity, which may lead to growth, rather than directly increasing growth. If trade capacity building assistance is universally effective, one would expect to see increases in recipient-country exports to both the US and the rest of the world. If trade capacity building is selectively effective, recipient-country exports should increase only to the US. If trade capacity building is ineffective, one would expect no impact on recipient-country exports. This paper finds substantial support that US trade capacity building is selectively effective. US trade capacity building tends to increase recipient-country exports to the United States, but not to the rest of the world. Although the US results may not be generalizable to other donors, this approach suggests an easily expandable research program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to combine the authors' findings of widespread bilateral trade-share persistence with some, recent empirical evidence of substantial and rapid volatility in the country source of most products in order to extend the implications of this literature in several ways. Design/methodology/approach - The paper focuses on the behavior of aggregate bilateral trade flows for a large number of countries over the period 1980-2000. Findings - The paper infers that countries are frequently switching to very different products in their export bundles to particular destinations. It also argues that the evidence of rapid product turnover in trade is not inconsistent with traditional factor endowment trade pattern predictions, as has been inferred in the literature. Finally it finds that sunk costs in international trade appear to be external to particular products going to particular destinations but internal to the sum total of bilateral trade. Originality/value - The novelty of this paper resides in documenting the remarkably constant bilateral trade shares of 93 countries over the past two decades and the combination of this result with other known trade pattern characteristics to arrive at important new conclusions. - [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose-This paper aims to critically examine China's exchange rate policy debate and discuss Chinese financial and capital control reform of recent years. Furthermore, using the empirical results based on a regional general equilibrium model, alternative methods are suggested of American concerns about China's role in contributing towards global financial stability and American trade deficits with China. Designlmethodology/approach-Regional general equilibrium input.output model. Findings-Sino-American debate on exchange rate policy is a matter of difference of opinion in sequencing of policies China has adopted to reduce capital account control and make her exchange rate regime more flexible. Using the final demand elasticity of exports it is observed that Chinese expansionary fiscal stimuli do have powerful effects in inducing additional exports for the United States and other Chinese trading partners. Research limitations/implications-The model does not include rest-of-the-world economies. Practical implications:-The results imply viable alternatives to renminbi/dollar appreciation policy in dealing with US-China persistent trade deficit. Originality/value-The paper suggests a new, empirical-based policy recommendation in dealing with the US trade deficit with China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary This paper first provides information on the distribution of Chinese firms’ export destinations. It then examines the relationship between firms’ export market diversification and their productivity by using trade and production data from the Customs Trade Statistics and the Annual Survey of Industrial Firms in China from the years 2000 to 2006. We check the robustness of the results by controlling for potential endogeneity and estimating various specifications. We find that there is a U-shaped relationship between the diversification of export markets and firm productivity. As firms begin to export, they face higher costs (and thus lower productivity) initially because they lack the knowledge and experience. Eventually, as diversification of the export market moves beyond a threshold level and investments cumulate, export market expansion results in lower long-run average costs and thus higher productivity owing to the learning curve and economies of scope, as well as economies of scale. This U-shaped relationship, however, is less pronounced for firms with higher share of intermediate products in total exports, for firms engaged in processing trade, and for firms exporting to Hong Kong. The results have significant implications for firm export dynamics and behavior, and can help target policies that will boost the performance of the firms. They are significant for policy makers who have emphasized the importance of export diversification for mitigating the impact of global shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International economic relations are organized in flexible and complex trade networks spatially structured by transport logistics. This paper aims to analyze the spatial interactions between the Northern region of the state of Minas Gerais and the international markets, considering the territorial configuration of the exporting sectors, the means of transportation, and the customs areas responsible for the flow of goods, from 2001 to 2012. The research was carried out through the means of literature review, data collection and analysis from primary and secondary sources to understand the export flow networks in the region. Transport logistics applied to the flow of exported goods has been organized in a service network consisting of national and international transportation systems and customs areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese rare earth export policies currently result in accelerating its depletion. Thus adopting an optimal export trade selection strategy is crucial to determining and ultimately identifying the ideal trading partners. This paper introduces a multi-attribute decision-making methodology which is then used to select the optimal trading partner. In the method, an evaluation criteria system is established to assess the seven top trading partners based on three dimensions: political relationships, economic benefits and industrial security. Specifically, a simple additive weighing model derived from an additive utility function is utilized to calculate, rank and select alternatives. Results show that Japan would be the optimal trading partner for Chinese rare earths. The criteria evaluation method of trading partners for China's rare earth exports provides the Chinese government with a tool to enhance rare earth industrial policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes as inputs for its analysis the trade flows between Colombia and a selected group of the East Asian countries, the export-import trade for each country, the intra-industry trade taking place in those countries and the Colombian national competitiveness situation. From that infor-mation it is inferred that Colombia is still following the Dependency path which means that trade with the most developed Asian countries may fall in the circumscription of exporting primary sector products. Only if Co-lombia seeks to enter in the intra-industry trade sectors in the Asian mar-kets with competitive products, will be able to diversify its export basket and break the pattern imposed by dependency. Therefore, the priorities for Colombia are mainly achieving high national competitiveness and produ-cing competitive products, but right now competitiveness is still weak and this demands upgrading its competitive factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzed the impact and causal relation of outbound Chinese FDI on growth, employment and export performance of 16 selected US States by using Panel data. The contemporaneous panel fixed estimation results shows that the impact of Chinese outbound FDI on the economic growth, employment and export of selected states are insignificant. But the impact of FDI on growth turns positive and significant when interacted with States export to China. Applying heterogeneous panel causality approach on a refined dynamic panel model indicates that Chinese FDI does not cause GDP, exports and employment while the results of reverse causality confirm that US State GDP (market size) cause the inflow of Chinese outbound FDI. The overall impact of Chinese outbound investment, a small portion of the total FDI inflow to the US, varies from conditionally positive to utterly insignificant without any adverse impact on the local economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to identify the factors that affect Bangladesh's exports. The panel data estimation technique and a generalized gravity model have been used to analyze Bangladesh's export trade pattern. A theoretical justification for using the gravity model in the analysis of bilateral trade has been reaffirmed. The estimated results reveal that the main contributors to Bangladesh's exports are the exchange rate, partner countries' total import demand and the openness of the Bangladesh economy. All these factors affect the country's exports positively. Transportation costs have negative but insignificant effect on Bangladesh's exports. The country specific effects show that neighboring countries' influence on the Bangladesh's exports is more than the influence of other distant countries. Therefore, Bangladesh should reduce trade barriers, pursue competitive devaluation of its currency, improve product quality and increase product varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines why different countries export different qualities of products. While previous studies have attributed quality differences to differences in physical capital endowments, there is a dearth of empirical work focusing on the effect of technology on the quality of exports. Using data on U.S. imports from 58 countries, we analyze the impact of technology and physical capital on quality. Our findings suggest that the export of high quality differentiated goods is associated with research and development (R&D) activities and foreign direct investment (FDI). However, physical capital has no effect on quality in the technology-intensive machinery industry. These results imply that if countries are interested in increasing the quality of the goods they export, they might consider implementing policies that promote R&D activities or attract FDI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remittances have been a great support to Pacific island countries (PICs). Aside from providing additions to domestic savings and, hence, real resources, they have been one of the major sources of foreign exchange earnings. In the context of falling exports and limited options to diversify their exports, inward remittances have assumed greater importance. This paper examines the nexus between growth and remittances in Samoa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the change in donors’ priorities since the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s, there has been a decline in annual aid inflows to Pacific island countries (PICs), which have been among the world's top recipients of aid per capita in the past. Along with fall in aid inflows, growing annual domestic budgetary deficits in recent years have forced some PICs to finance them through borrowing. This paper seeks to examine whether external debt contributed to economic growth in PICs by undertaking a study of six major PICs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Using a panel of countries over 1990–2000, this paper examines the extent to which different dimensions of the institutional framework affect total exports, exports of manufactured goods, and exports of nonmanufactured goods. It is observed that exports of manufactured goods are positively affected by the quality of institutions but neither total exports nor nonmanufactured exports. The latter may even correlate negatively with the quality of institutions. The results are robust to estimation methods. ( JEL F14, F15, O17) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to test the export-led growth hypothesis for South Asia, a diverse region consisting of one large country, India, surrounded by a number of medium and small countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives. Design/methodology/approach - To test this, the study employs cointegration and error-correction modelling, using data from the International Financial Statistics of the IMF. Findings - The study produces fairly mixed results, and does not find any conclusive evidence in favour of export-led growth. While India, Maldives and Nepal exhibit export-led growth, Bangladesh and Bhutan show the opposite result of growth-led exports. In Pakistan and Sri Lanka no causality in either direction was found. The mixed nature of the results is further confirmed by taking a common time period since 1980. Practical implications - South Asia is one of the poorest regions of the world; so success or otherwise of export-led growth is of great interest for policy purposes. For example, the finding of export-led growth for the largest economy of the region, India, is particularly heartening as, by opening up its markets further to the other countries of the region, it can fuel growth in the entire region. Originality/value - This study tries to fill an important gap in the literature as it is the first comprehensive study of the region as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To the extent that trade policy affects trade flows between countries, the ramifications can be far-reaching from an economic growth perspective. This paper examines one aspect of these ramifications, namely the impact of changes in the extent of trade between countries on changes in the rate of reduction in the size of the income gap that exists between them. Export and import data are used as the criteria for determining bilateral trade between major trade partners, resulting in the creation of 127 pairs of countries on the basis of export data and 134 pairs on the basis of import data. An increase in trade between major trade partners - and, in particular, increased exports by poorer countries to their wealthier partners - is shown to be related to an increase in the rate of convergence between the countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global garment and textile industries face changing international trade regimes, concerns with labour standards, new competitors and forms of competition. These challenges have a differentiated impact on developing-country producers and workers. One potential 'winner' is Vietnam. This paper uses a global value-chain framework to analyse the Vietnamese experience. It maps Vietnam's changing position in the global industry, and probes ties between Vietnamese firms and global buyers. It explores links within the Vietnamese garment and textiles sectors, and considers the impact of global challenges on Vietnamese firms and workers. This helps distinguish who are the potential 'winners' and 'losers'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study emphasizes the dynamism of the enterprise approach in manufacturing geography and the elusive quality of the milieu concept. It identifies the facilitating and restraining conditioning elements of the changing milieu of a large shipbuilding firm which, form 1950 to 1964, the period analyzed, comprised a major though rapidly declining part of the export base of Northern Ireland. The paper suggests that the local region provided a relatively permissive milieu for the firm, though it offered few opportunities for diversification. Competitive difficulties that arose during the period came mainly from the changing international milieu, especially movements in the composition of world demand and the appearance of Japanese suppliers. These difficulties were suggested in part to reflect the condition of the firm's internal resources, but they were increasingly assigned to the state of its national milieu. Also outlined are some of the firm's adoptive and adaptive features and the form of its adverse impact, including through multiplier effects, on the development of the local region.

Exports of a nation can form a large part of its commercial card on the international market. Global consumer, according to the quality of exports, may associate a certain image about the country of origin. This article aims at explaining the relationship between exports and competitiveness of a nation, the analysis focuses on the nature and intensity of intra-Community exports of Romania. To this end we considered a number of performance indicators that are able to reveal the positioning of trade from Romania to the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an analysis on the impact of Russian export policies imposed on timber products on the border economy in Finland. It examines the economic impact of tariffs imposed on Russian roundwood exports on the economy of a Finnish border region. It is argued that commercial timber industry in the region's top economic source of Finnish border economy. The cessation of Finnish timber imports after 2009, under the new protectionist Russian policy, is inferred to greatly affect the economy of the region, as well as those dependent on imported raw materials.