Product quality and the direction of trade

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hallak, JC
• 署名单位: University of Michigan System; University of Michigan
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1996
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2005.04.001
• 发表日期: 2006
• 页码: 238-265
• 关键词: product quality; linder; gravity; bilateral trade; North-South trade

摘要

A substantial amount of theoretical work predicts that quality plays an important role as a determinant of the global patterns of bilateral trade. This paper develops an empirical framework to estimate the empirical relevance of this prediction. In particular, it identifies the effect of quality operating on the demand side through the relationship between per capita income and aggregate demand for quality. The model yields predictions for bilateral flows at the sectoral level and is estimated using cross-sectional data for bilateral trade among 60 countries in 1995. The empirical results confirm the theoretical prediction: rich countries tend to import relatively more from countries that produce high-quality goods. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.