IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/amu/wpaper/0606.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Developing Country Exports of Manufactures: Moving Up the Ladder to Escape the Fallacy of Composition?

Author

Listed:
  • Arslan Razmi

    (Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts - Amherst)

  • Robert A. Blecker

    (Department of Economics, American University)

Abstract

This paper tests for a ‘fallacy of composition’ by analysing the demand for exports of the 18 developing countries that are most specialised in manufactures in the markets of the 10 largest industrial countries. Estimated export equations (both time-series and panel data) suggest that most developing countries compete with other developing country exporters rather than with industrialised country producers. A smaller number of countries that export more high-technology products compete with industrialised country producers and also have higher expenditure elasticities for their exports. Thus, the fallacy of composition applies mainly to the larger group of countries exporting mostly low-technology products.

Suggested Citation

  • Arslan Razmi & Robert A. Blecker, 2006. "Developing Country Exports of Manufactures: Moving Up the Ladder to Escape the Fallacy of Composition?," Working Papers 2006-06, American University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:amu:wpaper:0606
    DOI: 10.17606/d419-0p89
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.17606/d419-0p89
    File Function: First version, 2006
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17606/d419-0p89?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lall, Sanjaya & Albaladejo, Manuel, 2004. "China's Competitive Performance: A Threat to East Asian Manufactured Exports?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1441-1466, September.
    2. Cline, William R., 1982. "Can the East Asian model of development be generalized?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 81-90, February.
    3. Lall, Sanjaya, 1998. "Exports of Manufactures by Developing Countries: Emerging Patterns of Trade and Location," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 14(2), pages 54-73, Summer.
    4. Sapsford, David & Singer, Hans, 1998. "The IMF, the world bank and commodity prices: A case of shifting sands?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 26(9), pages 1653-1660, September.
    5. Riedel, James, 1988. "The Demand for LDC Exports of Manufactures: Estimates from Hong Kong," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 98(389), pages 138-148, March.
    6. Terrie L. Walmsley & Thomas W. Hertel, 2001. "China's Accession to the WTO: Timing is Everything," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(8), pages 1019-1049, September.
    7. Bewley, R. A., 1979. "The direct estimation of the equilibrium response in a linear dynamic model," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 357-361.
    8. Grilli, Enzo R & Yang, Maw Cheng, 1988. "Primary Commodity Prices, Manufactured Goods Prices, and the Terms of Trade of Developing Countries: What the Long Run Shows," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 2(1), pages 1-47, January.
    9. Morris Goldstein & Mohsin S. Khan, 2017. "Income and Price Effects in Foreign Trade," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: TRADE CURRENCIES AND FINANCE, chapter 1, pages 3-81, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    10. Rupa Duttagupta & Antonio Spilimbergo, 2004. "What Happened to Asian Exports During the Crisis?," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 51(1), pages 1-4.
    11. Mr. Gian M Milesi-Ferretti & Mr. Lorenzo Giorgianni, 1997. "Determinants of Korean Trade Flows and their Geographical Destination," IMF Working Papers 1997/054, International Monetary Fund.
    12. Kaplinsky, Raphael, 1993. "Export Processing Zones in the Dominican Republic: Transforming manufactures into commodities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 21(11), pages 1851-1865, November.
    13. Barry Eichengreen & Yeongseop Rhee & Hui Tong, 2004. "The Impact of China on the Exports of Other Asian Countries," NBER Working Papers 10768, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Hendry, David F, 1988. "The Encompassing Implications of Feedback versus Feedforward Mechanisms in Econometrics," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 40(1), pages 132-149, March.
    15. H. W. Singer, 1975. "The Strategy of International Development," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-04228-9.
    16. Faini, Riccardo & Clavijo, Fernando & Senhadji-Semlali, Abdel, 1992. "The fallacy of composition argument : Is it relevant for LDCs' manufactures exports?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 865-882, May.
    17. T. S. Breusch & A. R. Pagan, 1980. "The Lagrange Multiplier Test and its Applications to Model Specification in Econometrics," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 47(1), pages 239-253.
    18. Ocampo, José Antonio & Parra, María Angela, 2003. "The terms of trade for commodities in the twentieth century," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), April.
    19. Shigehisa Kasahara, 2004. "The Flying Geese Paradigm: A Critical Study Of Its Application To East Asian Regional Development," UNCTAD Discussion Papers 169, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    20. Michael Landesmann & Sebastian Leitner & Robert Stehrer, 2001. "Trade Liberalization and Labour Markets: Perspective from OECD Economies," wiiw Working Papers 20, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.
    21. Boozer, Michael A., 1997. "Econometric Analysis of Panel DataBadi H. Baltagi Wiley, 1995," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(5), pages 747-754, October.
    22. Spilimbergo, Antonio & Vamvakidis, Athanasios, 2003. "Real effective exchange rate and the constant elasticity of substitution assumption," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 337-354, August.
    23. Jörg Mayer, 2002. "The Fallacy of Composition: A Review of the Literature," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(6), pages 875-894, June.
    24. Paul Davidson, 1992. "International Money and the Real World," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, edition 0, number 978-0-230-37809-4.
    25. Davidson, Paul, 1972. "Money and the Real World," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 82(325), pages 101-115, March.
    26. Breusch, Trevor S & Wickens, Michael R., 1987. "Dynamic Specification, the Long Run and the Estimation of Transformed Regression Models," CEPR Discussion Papers 154, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    27. Muscatelli, V. A. & Stevenson, A. A. & Montagna, C., 1994. "Intra-NIE competition in exports of manufactures," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(1-2), pages 29-47, August.
    28. Luci Ellis, 2001. "Measuring the Real Exchange Rate: Pitfalls and Practicalities," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp2001-04, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    29. Wojciech W. Charemza & Derek F. Deadman, 1992. "New Directions In Econometric Practice," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 84.
    30. Bela Balassa, 1989. "New Directions in the World Economy," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-10588-5.
    31. Takatoshi Ito & Mr. Tamim Bayoumi & Mr. Peter Isard & Mr. Steven A. Symansky, 1996. "Exchange Rate Movements and Their Impact on Trade and Investment in the APEC Region," IMF Occasional Papers 1996/011, International Monetary Fund.
    32. Inder, Brett, 1993. "Estimating long-run relationships in economics : A comparison of different approaches," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1-3), pages 53-68.
    33. Balassa, Bela, 1988. "The adding up problem," Policy Research Working Paper Series 30, The World Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Arslan Razmi, 2006. "Pursuing Manufacturing-BasedExport-Led Growth: Are Developing Countries Increasingly Crowding Each Other Out?," UMASS Amherst Economics Working Papers 2006-05, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Economics.
    2. Razmi, Arslan, 2007. "Pursuing manufacturing-based export-led growth: Are developing countries increasingly crowding each other out?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 460-482, December.
    3. Robert A. Blecker & Arslan Razmi, 2010. "Export-led Growth, Real Exchange Rates and the Fallacy of Composition," Chapters, in: Mark Setterfield (ed.), Handbook of Alternative Theories of Economic Growth, chapter 19, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Rupa Duttagupta & Antonio Spilimbergo, 2004. "What Happened to Asian Exports During the Crisis?," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 51(1), pages 1-4.
    5. Mr. Gian M Milesi-Ferretti & Mr. Lorenzo Giorgianni, 1997. "Determinants of Korean Trade Flows and their Geographical Destination," IMF Working Papers 1997/054, International Monetary Fund.
    6. Utku Utkulu & Dilek Seymen, 2004. "Trade and Competitiveness Between Turkey and the EU: Time Series Evidence," Working Papers 2004/8, Turkish Economic Association, revised Mar 2004.
    7. Arslan Razmi, 2005. "Balance of Payments Constrained Growth Model: The Case of India," UMASS Amherst Economics Working Papers 2005-05, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Economics.
    8. Jörg Mayer, 2002. "The Fallacy of Composition: A Review of the Literature," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(6), pages 875-894, June.
    9. Keun Lee & Sanika Sulochani Ramanayake, 2018. "Adding-Up Problem and Wage–Productivity Gap in Exports of Developing Countries: A Source of the Middle-Income Trap," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(5), pages 769-788, December.
    10. Alberto Bagnai & Arsène Rieber & Thi Anh-Dao Tran, 2015. "Economic growth and balance-of-payments constraint in Vietnam," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(4), pages 588-615, November.
    11. Tze-Haw Chan & Hooi Hooi Lean & Chee-Wooi Hooy, 2014. "A macro assessment of China effects on Malaysian exports and trade balances," Journal of Chinese Economic and Foreign Trade Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(1), pages 18-37, January.
    12. Silvia Nenci, 2009. "Tariff liberatization and the growth of word trade: A comparative historiocal analysis to evaluate the multilateral trading system," Departmental Working Papers of Economics - University 'Roma Tre' 0110, Department of Economics - University Roma Tre.
    13. Menzie Chinn, 2006. "A Primer on Real Effective Exchange Rates: Determinants, Overvaluation, Trade Flows and Competitive Devaluation," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 115-143, January.
    14. Erten, Bilge & Ocampo, José Antonio, 2013. "Super Cycles of Commodity Prices Since the Mid-Nineteenth Century," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 14-30.
    15. repec:ipg:wpaper:2014-458 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. José Antonio Ocampo & María Angela Parra, 2004. "The commodity terms of trade and their strategic implications for development," International Trade 0403001, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Rudy Rahmaddi & Masaru Ichihashi, 2011. "How Do Foreign and Domestic Demand Affect Exports Performance? An Econometric Investigation of Indonesia's Exports," IDEC DP2 Series 1-4, Hiroshima University, Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation (IDEC), revised Jan 2012.
    18. Bilge Erten, 2010. "Industrial Upgrading and Export Diversification: A Comparative Analysis of Economic Policies in Turkey and Malaysia," Working Papers id:2778, eSocialSciences.
    19. Baak, SaangJoon, 2014. "Do Chinese and Korean products compete in the Japanese market? An investigation of machinery exports," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 256-271.
    20. Dhanya V, 2008. "Liberalisation of Tropical Commodity Market and Adding-Up Problem: A Bound Test Approach," Working Papers id:1608, eSocialSciences.
    21. Hasanov, Fakhri J. & Bulut, Cihan & Suleymanov, Elchin, 2016. "Do population age groups matter in the energy use of the oil-exporting countries?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 82-99.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Developing country exports of manufactures; intra-developing country competition; fallacy of composition; real exchange rates; technological ladder; adding-up constraint.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O19 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade

    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:amu:wpaper:0606. 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: Thomas Meal (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.american.edu/cas/economics/ .

    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.