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Export Sophistication and Trade Elasticities

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  • Willem THORBECKE
  • Nimesh SALIKE

Abstract

Does a country's export structure impact the way that exchange rates affect trade? Do more sophisticated products exhibit lower demand elasticities? Using panel data for major exporters over the 1992-2016 period and dynamic ordinary least squares techniques, we find that price elasticities are higher for low-technology goods such as textiles and footwear than for high-technology goods such as pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. We also find that elasticities are larger for less advanced countries such as China than for more advanced countries such as Switzerland. We draw policy implications from these findings for countries exposed to safe haven capital flows, for countries facing long-term appreciation pressures, and for countries that specialize in low-technology exports.

Suggested Citation

  • Willem THORBECKE & Nimesh SALIKE, 2018. "Export Sophistication and Trade Elasticities," Discussion papers 18061, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
  • Handle: RePEc:eti:dpaper:18061
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    Cited by:

    1. Sasaki, Hiroaki & Fukatani, Noriki & Imai, Daisuke & Kamanaka, Yusuke, 2022. "Sustainable Economic Growth in an Economy with Exhaustible Resources and a Declining Population under the Balance-of-Payments Constraint," MPRA Paper 113559, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Thorbecke, Willem & Chen, Chen & Salike, Nimesh, 2021. "China’s exports in a protectionist world," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    3. Willem THORBECKE & Nimesh SALIKE & CHEN Chen, 2020. "Product Complexity, Exports, and Exchange Rates: Evidence from the Japanese Chemical Industry," Discussion papers 20085, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    4. Willem Thorbecke, 2021. "The weak rupiah: catching the tailwinds and avoiding the shoals," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 23(3), pages 521-539, December.
    5. Chen Chen & Nimesh Salike & Willem Thorbecke, 2023. "Exchange rate effects on China's exports: Product sophistication and exchange rate elasticity," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 37(3), pages 371-400, September.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General

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