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Estimating the quality of Greek exports: a non-price based approach

Author

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  • Sarantis Kalyvitis

    (Athens University of Economics and Business)

Abstract

Product quality affects how countries specialize in production and international trade: higher-quality varieties of existing products help build on existing comparative advantages to boost productivity and exports. The main challenge faced in related empirical studies is that quality is unobserved and is often proxied by prices (unit values), defined as the ratio of export value over quantity. However, unit values cannot account for differences in the composition of goods and their production costs, or pricing strategies across exporters. Moreover, supply or demand shocks will affect prices without necessarily affecting product quality. This paper assesses the quality of Greek exports over period 1998-2012 based on the straightforward intuition that “conditional on price, higher market shares are assigned higher quality”. Export quality is estimated to have fallen by 0.7 percentage points per year on average for the period 1998-2010, but recovered in 2011 and 2012 when it displayed a cumulative rise of 18.7%, yielding an average annual rise of 0.7 percentage points for the period 1998-2012.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarantis Kalyvitis, 2014. "Estimating the quality of Greek exports: a non-price based approach," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 40, pages 79-103, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bog:econbl:y:2014:i:40:p:79-103
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Eric A. Verhoogen, 2008. "Trade, Quality Upgrading, and Wage Inequality in the Mexican Manufacturing Sector," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(2), pages 489-530.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Theodora Kosma & Pavlos Petroulas & Evangelia Vourvachaki, 2020. "What drives wage differentials in Greece: workplaces or workers?," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 52, pages 69-72, December.
    2. Ioannis Chatzivasiloglou, 2017. "The valuation of assets and liabilities of (re)insurance undertakings under solvency II," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 45, pages 63-90, July.
    3. Heather D Gibson & Georgia Pavlou, 2017. "Exporting and performance:evidence from Greek firms," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 45, pages 7-30, July.
    4. Zacharias Bragoudakis, 2018. "Are the price adjustments asymmetric in basic food categories? The case of the Greek food market," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 47, pages 75-91, July.
    5. Styliani Belli & Constantina Backinezos, 2016. "The transition to the new methodology for the compilation of balance of payments statistics – BPM6," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 43, pages 19-29, July.
    6. repec:bog:econbl:y:2016:i:43:p:19-29 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Christos Papazoglou & Dimitrios Sideris & Orestis Tsagklas, 2016. "Europe as an optimum currency area: the experience of the Baltic countries," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 44, pages 35-46, December.
    8. Evangelos Charalambakis, 2017. "How did the Greek financial crisis impact on households? A comparison between the two waves of the HFCS," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 45, pages 31-45, July.
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    10. Sofia Anyfantaki, 2016. "The evolution of financial technology (FinTech)," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 44, pages 47-62, December.
    11. Nikos Vettas & Ioannis Giotopoulos & Evangelia Valavanioti & Svetoslav Danchev, 2016. "The determinants of new firms’ export performance," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 43, pages 7-17, July.
    12. repec:bog:econbl:y:2016:i:43:p:31-53 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Konstantina Manou & Evangelia Papapetrou, 2016. "The economic behaviour of households in Greece: recent developments and prospects," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 44, pages 7-33, December.
    14. Nikos Vettas & Konstantinos Peppas & Sophia Stavraki & Michail Vasileiadis, 2020. "The contribution of Industry to the Greek economy: facts and prospects," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 52, pages 29-67, December.
    15. Sophia Lazaretou, 2016. "The Greek brain drain: the new pattern of Greek emigration during the recent crisis," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 43, pages 31-53, July.
    16. Ioannis Asimakopoulos & Athanasios P. Fassas & Dimitris Malliaropulos, 2020. "Does earnings quality matter? Evidence from the Athens Exchange," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 52, pages 93-112, December.
    17. repec:bog:econbl:y:2016:i:43:p:7-17 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Constantina Backinezos & Stelios Panagiotou & Evangelia Vourvachaki, 2020. "Multiplier effects by sector: an input-output analysis of the Greek economy," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 52, pages 7-28, December.
    19. Pinelopi Zioutou & Dimitris Sideris, 2018. "The energy sector: developments and prospects," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 47, pages 57-73, July.
    20. Hiona Balfoussia & Dimitris Papageorgiou, 2018. "Real and financial cycles in the Greek economy," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 47, pages 7-30, July.
    21. Theodora Kosma & Evangelia Papapetrou & Georgia Pavlou & Christina Tsochatzi & Pinelopi Zioutou, 2017. "Labour market adjustment and labour market reforms in Greece during the crisis: findings from the third wave of the Wage Dynamics Survey," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 45, pages 47-62, July.
    22. Faidon Kalfaoglou, 2016. "Bank recapitalisation: a necessary but not sufficient condition for resuming lending," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 43, pages 55-75, July.
    23. Melina Vasardani & Dimitra Dimitropoulou, 2018. "The utilisation of EU structural funds in Greece," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 47, pages 31-55, July.
    24. Ioannis Chatzivasiloglou, 2016. "Introduction to solvency ii of (re)insurance undertakings," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 44, pages 63-103, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    trade; manufacturing; Greek exports; export quality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality

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