IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cup/wotrrv/v11y2012i03p507-526_00.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Food standards and exports: evidence for China

Author

Listed:
  • MANGELSDORF, AXEL
  • PORTUGAL-PEREZ, ALBERTO
  • WILSON, JOHN S.

Abstract

Using a new database on standards in China, we estimate the impact of voluntary and mandatory standards – either harmonized to international norms or purely domestic – on Chinese food exports. The dataset covers seven Chinese products over the period 1992–2008. We find that standards have a positive effect on China's export performance, as the benefits to standardization in terms of reducing potential information asymmetry and signaling enhance food safety, and quality in foreign markets seem to surpass compliance costs. Our estimation results show that the positive effect of Chinese standards is larger when they are harmonized to international measures. The results suggest that there are clear benefits to China's steps to base their domestic standards and regulations on international measures.

Suggested Citation

  • Mangelsdorf, Axel & Portugal-Perez, Alberto & Wilson, John S., 2012. "Food standards and exports: evidence for China," World Trade Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(3), pages 507-526, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:wotrrv:v:11:y:2012:i:03:p:507-526_00
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1474745612000195/type/journal_article
    File Function: link to article abstract page
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John Wilson & Tsunehiro Otsuki & Baishali Majumdsar, 2003. "Balancing food safety and risk: do drug residue limits affect international trade in beef?," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(4), pages 377-402.
    2. Leland, Hayne E, 1979. "Quacks, Lemons, and Licensing: A Theory of Minimum Quality Standards," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(6), pages 1328-1346, December.
    3. Alberto Portugal‐Perez & José‐Daniel Reyes & John S. Wilson, 2010. "Beyond the Information Technology Agreement: Harmonisation of Standards and Trade in Electronics," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(12), pages 1870-1897, December.
    4. Eaton Jonathan & Tamura Akiko, 1994. "Bilateralism and Regionalism in Japanese and U.S. Trade and Direct Foreign Investment Patterns," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 478-510, December.
    5. Maskus, Keith E. & Otsuki, Tsunehiro & Wilson, John S., 2005. "The cost of compliance with product standards for firms in developing countries: an econometric study," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3590, The World Bank.
    6. James E. Anderson & Eric van Wincoop, 2003. "Gravity with Gravitas: A Solution to the Border Puzzle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 170-192, March.
    7. Chunlai Chen & Jun Yang & Christopher Findlay, 2008. "Measuring the Effect of Food Safety Standards on China’s Agricultural Exports," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 144(1), pages 83-106, April.
    8. Czubala, Witold & Shepherd, Ben & Wilson, John S., 2007. "Help or hindrance ? the impact of harmonized standards on african exports," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4400, The World Bank.
    9. G. M. Peter Swann, 2010. "International Standards and Trade: A Review of the Empirical Literature," OECD Trade Policy Papers 97, OECD Publishing.
    10. Cheng Fang & John C. Beghin, 2000. "Food Self-Sufficiency, Comparative Advantage, and Agricultural Trade: A Policy Analysis Matrix for Chinese Agriculture," Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) Publications 99-wp223, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University.
    11. de Melo, Jaime & Portugal-Perez, Alberto, 2008. "Rules of Origin, Preferences and Diversification in Apparel: African Exports to the US and to the EU," CEPR Discussion Papers 7072, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Tsunehiro Otsuki & John S. Wilson, 2001. "What price precaution? European harmonisation of aflatoxin regulations and African groundnut exports," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 28(3), pages 263-284, October.
    13. Broughton, Edward I. & Walker, Damian G., 2010. "Policies and practices for aquaculture food safety in China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 471-478, October.
    14. Julie A. Caswell & Neal H. Hooker, 1996. "HACCP as an International Trade Standard," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 78(3), pages 775-779.
    15. Spencer Henson & Steven Jaffee, 2008. "Understanding Developing Country Strategic Responses to the Enhancement of Food Safety Standards," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 548-568, April.
    16. Swann, Peter & Temple, Paul & Shurmer, Mark, 1996. "Standards and Trade Performance: The UK Experience," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(438), pages 1297-1313, September.
    17. John Hudson & Philip Jones, 2003. "International trade in 'quality goods': signalling problems for developing countries," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(8), pages 999-1013.
    18. Gale, H. Frederick, Jr. & Buzby, Jean C., 2009. "Imports From China and Food Safety Issues," Economic Information Bulletin 58620, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    19. Knut Blind & Andre Jungmittag, 2005. "Trade and the impact of innovations and standards: the case of Germany and the UK," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(12), pages 1385-1398.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Patricia AUGIER & Olivier CADOT & Marion DOVIS, 2016. "Regulatory harmonization, profits, and productivity: Firm-level evidence from Morocco," Working Papers P162, FERDI.
    2. Kareem, Olayinka Idowu, 2016. "Food safety regulations and fish trade: Evidence from European Union-Africa trade relations," Journal of Commodity Markets, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 18-25.
    3. Masoud Ali Khalid & Narmen M. Ghafor, 2019. "The Impact of NTMs on Trade: Evidence from Developing Countries," International Journal of Finance & Banking Studies, Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 8(1), pages 37-47, January.
    4. Blyde, Juan S. & Volpe Martincus, Christian & Molina, Danielken, 2014. "Fábricas sincronizadas: América Latina y el Caribe en la era de las Cadenas Globales de Valor," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 6668, November.
    5. Victor Stolzenburg & Daria Taglioni & Deborah Winkler, 2019. "Economic upgrading through global value chain participation: which policies increase the value-added gains?," Chapters, in: Stefano Ponte & Gary Gereffi & Gale Raj-Reichert (ed.), Handbook on Global Value Chains, chapter 30, pages 483-505, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Ehrich, Malte & Mangelsdorf, Axel, 2016. "The Role of Private Standards for Manufactured Food Exports from Developing Countries," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 243400, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    7. Boza, Sofía, 2013. "Assessing the impact of sanitary, phytosanitary and technical requirements on food and agricultural trade: what does current research tell us?," Papers 926, World Trade Institute.
    8. Birg, Laura & Voßwinkel, Jan S., 2015. "Minimum quality standards and exports," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 248, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    9. Drori, Netanel & Hashai, Niron & Clougherty, Joseph A., 2023. "Fire and ice: The incompatible impact of industry-wide domestic patents and international standards on firm internationalization," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(5).
    10. Schuster, Monica & Maertens, Miet, 2013. "Food Standards, Heterogeneous Firms and Developing Countries’ Export Performance," Working Papers 152084, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Agricultural and Food Economics.
    11. Dela-Dem Doe Fiankor & Insa Flachsbarth & Amjad Masood & Bernhard Brümmer, 2020. "Does GlobalGAP certification promote agrifood exports? [Standards as barriers versus standards as catalysts: assessing the impact of HACCP implementation on US seafood imports]," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 47(1), pages 247-272.
    12. Evelyn S. Devadason & VGR Chandran & Kaliappa Kalirajan, 2018. "Harmonization of food trade standards and regulations in ASEAN: the case of Malaysia's food imports," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(1), pages 97-109, January.
    13. Kareem, Fatima Olanike & Brümmer, Bernhard & Martinez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada, 2015. "The Implication of European Union’s Food Regulations on Developing Countries: Food Safety Standards, Entry Price System and Africa’s Export," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 198719, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    14. Dou, Lei & Yanagishima, Koji & Li, Xin & Li, Ping & Nakagawa, Mitsuhiro, 2015. "Food safety regulation and its implication on Chinese vegetable exports," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 128-134.
    15. de Faria, Rosane Nunes & Wieck, Christine, 2015. "Empirical evidence on the trade impact of asynchronous regulatory approval of new GMO events," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 22-32.
    16. Xuejun Wang & Xiaoqi Zhang & Dan Meng & Harry M. Kaiser, 2022. "The Effects of Product Standards on Trade: Quasi‐Experimental Evidence from China," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 55(2), pages 232-249, June.
    17. Ni, Shiying & Bai, Xiwen & Li, Lefei, 2022. "Behind the heterogeneous trade effects of standards: Multi-sector evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    18. José Manuel Álvarez Zárate (Editor), 2016. "¿Hacia dónde va América Latina respecto al derecho económico internacional?," Books, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Facultad de Derecho, number 860, October.
    19. Kareem, Fatima Olanike & Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada, 2020. "Are EU standards detrimental to Africa’s exports?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 42(5), pages 1022-1037.
    20. Juan S. Blyde & Christian Volpe Martincus & Danielken Molina, 2014. "Fábricas sincronizadas: América Latina y el Caribe en la era de las Cadenas Globales de Valor," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 86755 edited by Juan S. Blyde, February.
    21. repec:ags:aaea22:335475 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Abdoul G. Sam & Danbee Song, 2022. "Corporate environmentalism and international trade: Evidence from industry‐level data," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1440-1455, September.
    23. Olayinka Idowu Kareem, 2014. "The European Union Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Africa’s Exports," RSCAS Working Papers 2014/98, European University Institute.
    24. Lijuan Yang & Weigong Du, 2023. "Catalyst or barrier? Heterogeneous effects of standards on agricultural trade between China and the Belt and Road countries," International Studies of Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(1), pages 53-79, March.
    25. Ederington,Josh & Ruta,Michele, 2016. "Non-tariff measures and the world trading system," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7661, The World Bank.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen, Natalie & Novy, Dennis, 2012. "On the measurement of trade costs: direct vs. indirect approaches to quantifying standards and technical regulations," World Trade Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(3), pages 401-414, July.
    2. Ni, Shiying & Bai, Xiwen & Li, Lefei, 2022. "Behind the heterogeneous trade effects of standards: Multi-sector evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. Olayinka Idowu Kareem, 2014. "The European Union Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Africa’s Exports," RSCAS Working Papers 2014/98, European University Institute.
    4. Dou, Lei & Yanagishima, Koji & Li, Xin & Li, Ping & Nakagawa, Mitsuhiro, 2015. "Food safety regulation and its implication on Chinese vegetable exports," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 128-134.
    5. Yuan Li & John C. Beghin, 2017. "A meta-analysis of estimates of the impact of technical barriers to trade," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: John Christopher Beghin (ed.), Nontariff Measures and International Trade, chapter 4, pages 63-77, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    6. Kareem, Fatima Olanike & Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada, 2020. "Are EU standards detrimental to Africa’s exports?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 42(5), pages 1022-1037.
    7. Ederington,Josh & Ruta,Michele, 2016. "Non-tariff measures and the world trading system," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7661, The World Bank.
    8. Xuejun Wang & Huiying Zhou & Dongmei Su, 2022. "Does the internationalisation of China's agri‐food standards affect export quality upgrading?—Evidence from firm‐product‐level data," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 66(4), pages 887-911, October.
    9. Kareem, Olayinka Idowu, 2022. "Fruit safety regulations in the transatlantic region: How are Africa’s exports faring with the regulations?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 44(5), pages 886-902.
    10. Hejazi, Mina & Grant, Jason H. & Peterson, Everett, 2022. "Trade impact of maximum residue limits in fresh fruits and vegetables," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    11. Monica Schuster & Miet Maertens, 2013. "8 Private Food Standards and Firm-Level Trade Effects: A Dynamic Analysis of the Peruvian Asparagus Export Sector," Frontiers of Economics and Globalization, in: Nontariff Measures with Market Imperfections: Trade and Welfare Implications, pages 187-213, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    12. Clougherty, Joseph A. & Grajek, Michał, 2014. "International standards and international trade: Empirical evidence from ISO 9000 diffusion," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 70-82.
    13. Maertens, Miet & Swinnen, Johan, 2015. "Agricultural trade and development: A value chain perspective," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2015-04, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    14. John C. Beghin & Miet Maertens & Johan Swinnen, 2017. "Nontariff Measures and Standards in Trade and Global Value Chains," World Scientific Book Chapters,in: Nontariff Measures and International Trade, chapter 2, pages 13-38 World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    15. John C. Beghin & Miet Maertens & Johan Swinnen, 2017. "Nontariff Measures and Standards in Trade and Global Value Chains," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: John Christopher Beghin (ed.), Nontariff Measures and International Trade, chapter 2, pages 13-38, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    16. Maria Cipollina & Federica Demaria & Filomena Pietrovito, 2016. "Determinants of Trade: the Role of Innovation in Presence of Quality Standards," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 455-475, December.
    17. Fabio Gaetano Santeramo & Emilia Lamonaca, 2019. "On the impact of non-tariff measures on trade performances of the African agri-food sector," Agrekon, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(4), pages 389-406, October.
    18. Olper, Alessandro & Curzi, Daniele & Pacca, Lucia, 2014. "Do food standards affect the quality of EU imports?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 122(2), pages 233-237.
    19. Fabio Gaetano Santeramo & Emilia Lamonaca, 2019. "The Effects of Non‐tariff Measures on Agri‐food Trade: A Review and Meta‐analysis of Empirical Evidence," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(3), pages 595-617, September.
    20. Susanne Fricke & Geoffrey Chapman, 2017. "The Role of Standards in North-South Trade: The Case of Agricultural Exports from Sub-Saharan African Countries to the EU," Jena Economics Research Papers 2017-011, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cup:wotrrv:v:11:y:2012:i:03:p:507-526_00. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kirk Stebbing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cambridge.org/wtr .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.