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Criss-Crossing Globalization: Uphill Flows of Skill-Intensive Goods and Foreign Direct Investment

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  • Aaditya Mattoo
  • Arvind Subramanian

Abstract

This paper documents an unusual and possibly significant phenomenon: the export of skills, embodied in goods, services or capital from poorer to richer countries. We first present a set of stylized facts. Using a measure which combines the sophistication of a country’s exports with the average income level of destination countries, we show that the performance of a number of developing countries,notably China, Mexico and South Africa, matches that of much more advanced countries, such as Japan, Spain and USA. Creating a new combined dataset on FDI (covering greenfield investment as well as mergers and acquisitions) we show that flows of FDI to OECD countries from developing countries like Brazil, India, Malaysia and South Africa as a share of their GDP, are as large as flows from countries like Japan, Korea and the US. Then, taking the work of Hausmann et al. (2007) as a point of departure, we suggest that it is not just the composition of exports but their destination that matters. In both cross-sectional and panel regressions, with a range of controls, we find that a measure of uphill flows of sophisticated goods is significantly associated with better growth performance. These results suggest the need for a deeper analysis of whether development benefits might derive not from deifying comparative advantage but from defying it.

Suggested Citation

  • Aaditya Mattoo & Arvind Subramanian, 2009. "Criss-Crossing Globalization: Uphill Flows of Skill-Intensive Goods and Foreign Direct Investment," Working Papers 176, Center for Global Development.
  • Handle: RePEc:cgd:wpaper:176
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    Cited by:

    1. Arvind Subramanian & Martin Kessler, 2013. "The Hyperglobalization of Trade and Its Future," Working Paper Series WP13-6, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
    2. Javorcik, Beata & Harding, Torfinn, 2009. "A Touch of Sophistication: FDI and Unit Values of Exports," CEPR Discussion Papers 7596, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Sergey Kondyan & Karine Yenokyan, 2019. "The Effect of Foreign Direct Investment on Economic Growth," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 45(4), pages 532-564, October.
    4. Sergey Kondyan & Karine Yenokyan, 2019. "Cross-country Knowledge Spillovers and Innovations in Less Developed Countries in the Context of the Schumpeterian Growth Model," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 479-500, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    foreign direct investment; globalization; skill flow; economic development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F1 - International Economics - - Trade
    • F2 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business
    • F4 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance
    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity

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