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Trade in value added: Do we need new measures of competitiveness?

Author

Listed:
  • Lommatzsch, Kirsten
  • Silgoner, Maria A.
  • Ramskogler, Paul

Abstract

It has been argued that the increasing importance of global value chains necessitates a modification of conventional competitiveness measures. We compile a broad dataset including value added trade, gross exports and conventional and value added based real exchange rates. To sharply focus on external competitiveness, a new price competitiveness indicator is introduced, the TWULC (Trade Weighted Unit Labour Cost indicator). It weights sectorspecific cost trends according to sector shares in exports. Econometric tests for a panel of 38 countries show that the focus on value added trade generally improves the explanatory power of export equations. Value added exports' sensitivity towards real exchange rates is up to four times higher than that of gross exports. Real effective exchange rates focusing on exporting industries and on value added weights yield more robust results across the specifications, but do not systematically outperform the more conventional measures of price or cost competitiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • Lommatzsch, Kirsten & Silgoner, Maria A. & Ramskogler, Paul, 2016. "Trade in value added: Do we need new measures of competitiveness?," Discussion Papers 52/2016, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:bubdps:522016
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nikhil Patel & Zhi Wang & Shang‐Jin Wei, 2019. "Global Value Chains and Effective Exchange Rates at the Country‐Sector Level," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 51(S1), pages 7-42, December.
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    11. Styliani Christodoulopoulou & Olegs Tkacevs, 2014. "Measuring the Effectiveness of Cost and Price Competitiveness in External Rebalancing of Euro Area Countries: What Do Alternative HCIs Tell Us?," Working Papers 2014/06, Latvijas Banka.
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    Cited by:

    1. Camille Logeay & Heike Joebges, 2018. "Could a national wage rule stabilize the current account and functional income distribution in the Euro area?," FMM Working Paper 23-2018, IMK at the Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute.
    2. Martin Gächter & Alexander Gruber & Aleksandra Riedl, 2017. "Wage Divergence, Business Cycle Co-Movement and the Currency Union Effect," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(6), pages 1322-1342, November.
    3. repec:gdk:wpaper:48 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Nikhil Patel & Zhi Wang & Shang‐Jin Wei, 2019. "Global Value Chains and Effective Exchange Rates at the Country‐Sector Level," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 51(S1), pages 7-42, December.
    5. Amat Adarov & Robert Stehrer, 2021. "Implications of foreign direct investment, capital formation and its structure for global value chains," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(11), pages 3246-3299, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    competitiveness; external trade; labour costs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General

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