Relative Productivity, Country Size and Export Diversification

Does diversification of an economy improve the chances of democracy? In theory, diversification may reduce elite cohesion and improve citizens’ outside options, making democracy more likely. This paper estimates the effect of export diversification on democracy, using data from 143 countries. We use variability within countries in fertile soil as an instrument for diversification, controlling for country size. To address the possibility that current fertile soil variability may have been influenced by historical country characteristics that could also have affected democracy today, we control for historical changes in land cover. We identify a statistically significant, positive effect of diversification on democracy.

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Trade Volatility in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Plus Three: Impacts and Determinants

Asian Development Review ◽

10.1162/adev_a_00153 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

pp. 167-200

Author(s):

Thi Nguyet Anh Nguyen ◽

Thi Hong Hanh Pham ◽

Thomas Vallée

Keyword(s):

Free Trade Agreements ◽

Trade Agreements ◽

Southeast Asian ◽

Export Diversification ◽

Output Volatility ◽

Income Volatility ◽

Country Size ◽

Level Of Economic Development ◽

Trade Volatility ◽

The Relationship

This paper investigates trade volatility in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Plus Three (ASEAN+3) and its links with output volatility, export diversification, and free trade agreements. To achieve this research objective, we apply several econometric estimators to data from all ASEAN+3 member states over the period 1990–2016. We first find evidence of a positive relationship between output volatility and trade volatility. Second, we reveal that the way export diversification is measured can influence its impacts on bilateral export volatility. Moreover, the relationship between income volatility, trade volatility, and export diversification seems to depend on country size and the level of economic development.

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Export Diversification in Low-Income Countries and Small States: Do Country Size and Income Level Matter?

IMF Working Papers ◽

10.5089/9781498315654.001 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (118) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dongyeol Lee ◽

Huan Zhang

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Income Level ◽

Low Income Countries ◽

Small States ◽

Export Diversification ◽

Country Size

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Atlas of economic complexity, Russian regional pages

Voprosy Ekonomiki ◽

10.32609/0042-8736-2018-6-71-91 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 71-91 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

I. L. Lyubimov ◽

M. V. Lysyuk ◽

M. A. Gvozdeva

Keyword(s):

Value Added ◽

Growth Strategy ◽

Gdp Per Capita ◽

Export Diversification ◽

Russian Regions ◽

Economic Complexity ◽

Diversification Strategies ◽

Central Regions ◽

Per Capita ◽

Regions Of Russia

Well-established results indicate that export diversification might be a better growth strategy for an emerging economy as long as its GDP per capita level is smaller than an empirically defined threshold. As average incomes in Russian regions are likely to be far below the threshold, it might be important to estimate their diversification potential. The paper discusses the Atlas of economic complexity for Russian regions created to visualize regional export baskets, to estimate their complexity and evaluate regional export potential. The paper’s results are consistent with previous findings: the complexity of export is substantially higher and diversification potential is larger in western and central regions of Russia. Their export potential might become larger if western and central regions, first, try to join global value added chains and second, cooperate and develop joint diversification strategies. Northern and eastern regions are by contrast much less complex and their diversification potential is small.

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Intra-industry and inter-industry trade through the lens of comparative and absolute advantage

Voprosy Ekonomiki ◽

10.32609/0042-8736-2016-10-112-128 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 112-128

Author(s):

A. Gnidchenko

Keyword(s):

International Trade ◽

Product Quality ◽

Vital Role ◽

Increasing Returns ◽

Traditional View ◽

Export Diversification ◽

Industry Trade ◽

Long Time ◽

Absolute Advantage

The article surveys the literature that emphasizes the importance of comparative and absolute advantages for intra- and inter-industry trade. Two conclusions follow form the survey. First, unlike the traditional view, intra-industry trade is determined rather by technology than by increasing returns. Second, absolute advantages that have been ignored in international trade models for a long time play a vital role through their linkages with product quality and export diversification. We also discuss a new strand of literature that models international trade with the assumption of non-homothetic preferences.

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