Determinants of Export Growth at the Extensive and Intensive Margins : Evidence from Product and Firm-level Data for Pakistan

Reis, José ; Guilherme ; Taglioni, Daria

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS;    AGRICULTURE;    APPAREL;    APPAREL INDUSTRIES;    AVERAGE TRADE;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-6341
RP-ID  :  WPS6341

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

As globalization progresses andinvestment is mobile, it is ever more important for policymakers to understand drivers of growth and exports at themicro-level: Which products are being produced and exported?Which firms populate the domestic economy? Are theysuccessful in exporting? How are firms affected by exogenousshocks and policy intervention? Through the use ofdescriptive statistics and econometric analysis, this paperassesses the trade competitiveness of Pakistan usingmicro-data. The case of Pakistan is interesting since thecountry's recent trade policy has reverted to aprotectionist path since the mid-2000s and trade performanceis stagnating, as indicated by a decrease in itstrade-to-gross domestic product ratio over the past decadeand low levels of sophistication of exports. The mainfindings of the paper are the following. Like many othercountries, Pakistan posts a high concentration of exports inthe hands of a limited number of large exporters. Thedominance of few exporters has increased over time and itseems associated with the changes in trade policy. Low ratesof product innovation and experimentation and a low abilityof the Pakistani export sector to enter into new highergrowth sectors are other features emerging from the data.All in all, the mediocre performance seems to be associatedwith internal problems with trade-related incentives,business environment, and governance, in addition to thewell-known external constraints.