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Exports and Property Prices in France: Are They Connected?

Author

Listed:
  • Balázs Égert

    (OECD)

  • Rafal Kierzenkowski

    (OECD)

Abstract

France has seen a marked deterioration in its export performance in the last 10 years or so. Previous empirical research pointed out that weak export performance was due to i) vigorous domestic demand; ii) lower mark-ups due to head-to-head competition with Germany; iii) low non-price competitiveness of French export goods; iv) offshoring of entire production processes (especially in the automobile sector); and v) difficulties of French manufacturing firms to reach critical size for exporting. This paper adds an additional explanation to this list. We argue that resource reallocation from the exporting to the construction sector triggered by fast rising property prices hindered France to meet world export demand vis-à-vis its products. Our econometric analysis shows that the resource reallocation argument helps explain French export performance between the early 2000s and 2007, unexplained by traditional models. This result is confirmed for a set of OECD countries that experienced a marked decline in their export performance and sustained real-estate boom after 2000. Les exportations et les prix immobiliers en France : Sont-ils connectés ? La France a connu une détérioration marquée de sa performance à l’exportation au cours des dix dernières années. Les travaux empiriques antérieurs ont mis en évidence qu’une faible performance à l’exportation était due à i) une demande intérieure vigoureuse ; ii) des marges plus faibles en raison d’une concurrence directe avec l’Allemagne ; iii) une faible compétitivité hors prix des biens d’exportation français ; iv) le transfert de la totalité du processus de production à l’étranger (en particulier dans le secteur automobile) ; et v) les difficultés des entreprises manufacturières françaises pour atteindre une taille critique à l’exportation. Cet article ajoute une explication supplémentaire à cette liste. Nous soutenons que la réallocation des ressources du secteur exportateur vers le secteur de la construction déclenchée par une hausse rapide des prix immobiliers a empêchée la France de satisfaire la demande d’exportation mondiale adressée à ses produits. Notre analyse économétrique montre que l’argument de réallocation de ressources aide à expliquer la performance à l’exportation française entre le début des années 2000 et 2007, inexpliquée par les modélisations traditionnelles. Ce résultat est confirmé pour plusieurs pays de l’OCDE, qui ont connu un déclin de leur performance à l’exportation et un boom immobilier soutenu après 2000.

Suggested Citation

  • Balázs Égert & Rafal Kierzenkowski, 2010. "Exports and Property Prices in France: Are They Connected?," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 759, OECD Publishing.
    • Handle: RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:759-en
    DOI: 10.1787/5kmh379pv30v-en
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Real estate-driven exports
      by ? in VoxEU.org on 2013-10-02 06:00:00

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    Cited by:

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    allocation des ressources; competitiveness; compétitivité; construction; construction; export performance; exportations; exports; France; France; house prices; OCDE; OECD; performance à l'exportation; prix immobiliers; resource allocation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • O52 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Europe

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