IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wbk/wbrwps/6712.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

International tradability indices for services

Author

Listed:
  • van der Marel, Erik
  • Shepherd, Ben

Abstract

This paper uses a theoretically grounded model of international trade to estimate the cross-border tradability of services. The resulting indices cover up to 99 countries and ten sectors. The results show that information and communications technology capital and legal institutions are particularly important determinants of a country's ability to successfully export services. The tradability indices are strongly correlated with outcome indicators, such as trade shares of individual countries. In addition, they are strongly correlated with important inputs, including country productivity and size, factor endowments, trade costs, and regulatory measures. In particular, the results suggest that a more restrictive regulatory environment significantly reduces the international tradability of services.

Suggested Citation

  • van der Marel, Erik & Shepherd, Ben, 2013. "International tradability indices for services," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6712, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6712
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2013/11/25/000158349_20131125144330/Rendered/PDF/WPS6712.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Costinot, Arnaud, 2009. "On the origins of comparative advantage," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(2), pages 255-264, April.
    2. John Romalis, 2004. "Factor Proportions and the Structure of Commodity Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 67-97, March.
    3. Andrei A. Levchenko, 2007. "Institutional Quality and International Trade," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 74(3), pages 791-819.
    4. J. Bradford Jensen & Lori G. Kletzer, 2005. "Tradable Services: Understanding the Scope and Impact of Services Outsourcing," Working Paper Series WP05-9, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
    5. van der Marel, Erik, 2011. "Determinants of comparative advantage in services," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 38993, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Chor, Davin, 2010. "Unpacking sources of comparative advantage: A quantitative approach," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(2), pages 152-167, November.
    7. Elhanan Helpman & Marc Melitz & Yona Rubinstein, 2008. "Estimating Trade Flows: Trading Partners and Trading Volumes," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(2), pages 441-487.
    8. Ingo Borchert & Batshur Gootiiz & Aaditya Mattoo, 2014. "Policy Barriers to International Trade in Services: Evidence from a New Database," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 28(1), pages 162-188.
    9. Joseph Francois & Olga Pindyuk, 2013. "Consolidated Data on International Trade in Services," IIDE Discussion Papers 20130101, Institue for International and Development Economics.
    10. Borchert, Ingo & Gootiiz, Batshur & Mattoo, Aaditya, 2012. "Guide to the services trade restrictions database," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6108, The World Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hausmann, Ricardo & Espinoza, Luis & Santos, Miguel Angel, 2016. "Shifting Gears: A Growth Diagnostic of Panama," Working Paper Series rwp16-045, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    2. Akihiko Shinozaki & Shigehiro Kubota, 2018. "The Role of Cross-Border Networks of Skilled Labor in Offshore Outsourcing: Empirical Evidence Based on the Network Theory," The Review of Socionetwork Strategies, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 153-165, December.
    3. Nazire Nergiz Dincer & Ayça Tekin‐Koru, 2020. "The effect of border barriers to services trade on goods trade," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(8), pages 2093-2118, August.
    4. Ben Shepherd, 2019. "Productivity and Trade Growth in Services: How Services Helped Power Factory Asia," Working Papers id:12975, eSocialSciences.
    5. Khatiwada, Sameer & Flaminiano, John Paul, 2019. "Prospects for Decent Work in Services," ADBI Working Papers 940, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    6. Jean Bosco Harelimana & Beline Mukarwego, 2021. "Service Sector as an Engine of Growth: Empirical Analysis of Rwanda," Business and Management Studies, Redfame publishing, vol. 7(2), pages 47-59, June.
    7. Uwitonze, Eric & Heshmati, Almas, 2016. "Service Sector Development and its Determinants in Rwanda," IZA Discussion Papers 10117, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Beverelli, Cosimo & Fiorini, Matteo & Hoekman, Bernard, 2017. "Services trade policy and manufacturing productivity: The role of institutions," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 166-182.
    2. Cai, Jie & Stoyanov, Andrey, 2016. "Population aging and comparative advantage," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 1-21.
    3. Gordon H. Hanson & Nelson Lind & Marc-Andreas Muendler, 2015. "The Dynamics of Comparative Advantage," CESifo Working Paper Series 5622, CESifo.
    4. Tang, Heiwai, 2012. "Labor market institutions, firm-specific skills, and trade patterns," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 337-351.
    5. Nunn, Nathan & Trefler, Daniel, 2014. "Domestic Institutions as a Source of Comparative Advantage," Handbook of International Economics, in: Gopinath, G. & Helpman, . & Rogoff, K. (ed.), Handbook of International Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 0, pages 263-315, Elsevier.
    6. Idrisova, Vittoria (Идрисова, Виттория), 2017. "Determinants of Value-Added Exports: The Role of Import Demand Factors [Детерминанты Экспорта Добавленной Стоимости: Роль Факторов Спроса На Импорт]," Working Papers 051715, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
    7. Krishna, Pravin & Levchenko, Andrei A., 2013. "Comparative advantage, complexity, and volatility," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 314-329.
    8. Kohler, Wilhelm & Kukharskyy, Bohdan, 2019. "Offshoring under uncertainty," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 158-180.
    9. Cheng‐Te Lee & Shang‐Fen Wu, 2023. "Technology advantage, terms of trade, and pattern of trade," International Journal of Economic Theory, The International Society for Economic Theory, vol. 19(1), pages 166-174, March.
    10. van der Marel, Erik, 2011. "Determinants of comparative advantage in services," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 38993, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. Antonio Ciccone & Elias Papaioannou, 2016. "Estimating Cross-Industry Cross-Country Interaction Models Using Benchmark Industry Characteristics," NBER Working Papers 22368, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Fernandes, Ana M. & Mattoo, Aaditya & Nguyen, Huy & Schiffbauer, Marc, 2019. "The internet and Chinese exports in the pre-ali baba era," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 57-76.
    13. Arnaud Costinot, 2009. "An Elementary Theory of Comparative Advantage," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 77(4), pages 1165-1192, July.
    14. Wilhelm Kohler & Bohdan Kukharskyy, 2018. "Offshoring under Uncertainty," CESifo Working Paper Series 7173, CESifo.
    15. Agnes Kügler & Andreas Reinstaller & Klaus S. Friesenbichler, 2023. "Can value chain integration explain the diverging economic performance within the EU?," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 50(1), pages 25-47, March.
    16. Costinot, Arnaud & Komunjer, Ivana, 2006. "What Good Do Countries Trade? New Ricardian Predictions," University of California at San Diego, Economics Working Paper Series qt9t9818ng, Department of Economics, UC San Diego.
    17. Jaimovich, Esteban, 2019. "Roadways, input sourcing, and patterns of specialization," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    18. Alessandra Bonfiglioli & Rosario Crinò & Gino Gancia, 2019. "Trade, Finance, and Endogenous Firm Heterogeneity," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(1), pages 79-130.
    19. Richard Frensch & Jan Hanousek & Evzen Kocenda, 2016. "Trade in Parts and Components across Europe," Czech Journal of Economics and Finance (Finance a uver), Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, vol. 66(3), pages 236-262, June.
    20. Stephan Huber, 2018. "Trade Patterns and Endogenous Institutions: Global Evidence," Contributions to Economics, in: Product Characteristics in International Economics, chapter 0, pages 91-120, Springer.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic Theory&Research; Trade and Services; Free Trade; ICT Policy and Strategies; Trade Law;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6712. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Roula I. Yazigi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dvewbus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.