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The Value of Information in International Trade: Gains to Outsourcing through Hong Kong

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Author Info
Robert C. Feenstra (University of California. Davis and National Bureau of Economic Research)
Gordon H. Hanson (University of California, San Diego, and National Bureau of Economic Research)
Songhua Lin (Denison University)

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Abstract

In this paper, we estimate the benefits to countries that purchase goods from China by having access to intermediary services provided in Hong Kong. Traders in Hong Kong supply information on markets and producers in China, which provides welfare gains to foreign firms using these services. During the 1990s, Hong Kong intermediated about one-half of the goods that China exported to the rest of the world. Using constant elasticity demand curves, we find that the gains to intermediary services provided by Hong Kong are roughly equal to the value of these Hong Kong re-exports, and four to five times larger than the markups earned in Hong Kong. Using a linear approximation to the demand curves instead, we find that the gains are one-quarter as much as the value of re-exports, or slightly larger than the markups.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Berkeley Electronic Press in its journal The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy.

Volume (Year): advances.4 (2004)
Issue (Month): 1 ()
Pages:
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Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejeap:v:advances.4:y:2004:i:1:n:7

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Related research
Keywords: information; hong kong; discrete choice; outsourcing;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
F1 - International Economics - - Trade

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. James E. Anderson & Eric van Wincoop, 2001. "Gravity with Gravitas: A Solution to the Border Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 8079, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Grossman, G.M. & Helpman, E., 2002. "Outsourcing in a Global Economy," Papers 218, Princeton, Woodrow Wilson School - Public and International Affairs.
    Other versions:
  3. Feenstra, Robert C, 1994. "New Product Varieties and the Measurement of International Prices," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(1), pages 157-77, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Barry Naughton, 1996. "China's Emergence and Prospects as a Trading Nation," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 27(1996-2), pages 273-344. [Downloadable!]
  5. Redding, Stephen J & Venables, Anthony J., 2000. "Economic Geography and International Inequality," CEPR Discussion Papers 2568, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Dubin, Jeffrey A & McFadden, Daniel L, 1984. "An Econometric Analysis of Residential Electric Appliance Holdings and Consumption," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(2), pages 345-62, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Robert C. Feenstra et al., 1999. "Discrepancies in International Data: An Application to China-Hong Kong Entrepot Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 338-343, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. James E. Rauch & Vitor Trindade, 2000. "Information and Globalization: Wage Co-Movements, Labor Demand Elasticity, and Conventional Trade Liberalization," NBER Working Papers 7671, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Alessandra Casella & James E. Rauch, 1997. "Anonymous Market and Group Ties in International Trade," NBER Working Papers 6186, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. Gould, David M, 1994. "Immigrant Links to the Home Country: Empirical Implications for U.S. Bilateral Trade Flows," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 76(2), pages 302-16, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. James E. Rauch & Alessandra Casella, 2003. "Overcoming Informational Barriers to International Resource Allocation: Prices and Ties," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(484), pages 21-42, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. Gordon H. Hanson & Robert C. Feenstra, 2001. "Intermediaries in Entrepot Trade: Hong Kong Re-Exports of Chinese Goods," NBER Working Papers 8088, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  13. Wan, Henry Y, Jr & Weisman, Jason, 1999. "Hong Kong: The Fragile Economy of Middlemen," Review of International Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 7(3), pages 410-30, August.
  14. Gene M. Grossman & Elhanan Helpman, 2002. "Integration Versus Outsourcing In Industry Equilibrium," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 117(1), pages 85-120, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Bruce Blonigen & Alyson Ma, 2007. "Please Pass the Catch-up The Relative Performance of Chinese and Foreign Firms in Chinese Exports," NBER Working Papers 13376, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Lars Calmfors & Giancarlo Corsetti & John Kay & Seppo Honkapohja & Willi Leibfritz & Gilles Saint-Paul & Hans-Werner Sinn & Xavier Vives, 2005. "Chapter 2: Outsourcing," EEAG Report on the European Economy, CESifo Group Munich, vol. 0, pages 39-50, 03. [Downloadable!]
  3. Alessandro Nicita & Marcelo Olarreaga, 2007. "Information and Export Performance," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 95-111, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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