Clothing and Export Diversification : Still a Route to Growth for Low-Income Countries?

Brenton, Paul ; Hoppe, Mombert

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY;    AGGREGATE EXPORTS;    AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS;    APPAREL;    APPAREL EXPORTS;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-4343
RP-ID  :  WPS4343

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Can the clothing sector be a driver ofexport diversification and growth for today'slow-income countries as it was in the past for countriesthat have graduated into middle income? This paper assessesthis issue taking into account key changes to the market forclothing: the emergence of India and especially China asexporting countries; the rise of global production chains;the removal of quotas from the global trading regime but thecontinued presence of high tariffs and substantial tradepreferences; the increasing importance of large buyers indeveloped countries and their concerns regarding risk andreputation; and the increasing importance of time indefining sourcing decisions. To assess the importance of thefactors shaping the global clothing market, the authorsestimate a gravity model to explain jointly the propensityto export clothing and the magnitude of exports fromdeveloping countries to the E U and US markets. Thisanalysis identifies the quality of governance as animportant determinant of sourcing decisions and that thereappears to be a general bias against sourcing apparel fromAfrican countries, which is only partially overcome by trade preferences.