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Specialization Patterns in International Trade

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  • W. Steingress

Abstract

The pattern of specialization is key to understanding how trade affects the production structure of an economy. To measure specialization, I compute concentration indexes for the value of exports and imports and decompose the overall concentration into the extensive product margin (number of products traded) and intensive product margin (value of products traded). Using detailed product- level trade data for 130 countries, I find that exports are more concentrated than imports, specialization occurs mainly in the intensive product margin, and larger economies have more diversified exports and imports because they trade more products. Based on these facts, I assess the ability of the Eaton-Kortum model, the workhorse model of modern Ricardian trade theory, to account for the observed patterns. The results show that specialization through comparative advantage induced by technological differences can explain the qualitative and quantitative facts. The key determinants of specialization are: the degree of absolute and comparative advantage, the elasticity of substitution and geography.

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  • W. Steingress, 2015. "Specialization Patterns in International Trade," Working papers 542, Banque de France.
    • Handle: RePEc:bfr:banfra:542
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    Cited by:

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    2. Bahar, Dany & Santos, Miguel A., 2018. "One more resource curse: Dutch disease and export concentration," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 102-114.
    3. Jungran Cho & Emma Kyoungseo Hong & Jeongho Yoo & Inkyo Cheong, 2020. "The Impact of Global Protectionism on Port Logistics Demand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-17, February.
    4. Maja Bacovic & Danijela Jacimovic & Julija Cerovic Smolovic, 2020. "Impact of Export of Travel Services on Current Account Balance and Growth in Mediterranean Countries," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2020(6), pages 710-728.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ricardian trade theory; specialization; import concentration; export concentration.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F11 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Neoclassical Models of Trade
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F17 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Forecasting and Simulation

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