Diversification, Growth, and Volatility in Asia

Papageorgiou, Chris; Spatafora, Nikola; Wang, Ke

Diversification, Growth, and Volatility in Asia

Autores

Papageorgiou, Chris

Spatafora, Nikola

Wang, Ke

Editor

World Bank, Washington, DC

Descripción

Economic development critically involves diversification and structural transformation—that is, the continued, dynamic reallocation of resources from less productive to more productive sectors and activities. This paper documents that, over an extended period, developing Asia has on average been particularly successful in diversifying its exports, particularly in comparison with Sub-Saharan Africa. Much of the progress has occurred through diversification along the ‘extensive margin,’ that is, through entry into completely new products. In addition, developing Asia has on average benefited significantly from quality upgrading, helping it capitalize on already existing comparative advantages. Yet, agricultural and natural resources tend to have lower potential for quality upgrading than manufactures. Therefore, for lower-income “frontier” countries, diversification into products with longer “quality ladders” may be a necessary first step before large gains from quality improvement can be reaped.

Palabras clave

STANDARD GROWTH DETERMINANTS, GROWTH RATES, OUTPUT VOLATILITY, EXPORT MARKETS, ECONOMIC GROWTH, PRODUCTION, LOWERING BARRIERS, FOREIGN INVESTORS, INCOME, INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES, COUNTRY CASE, REAL GDP, EXCHANGE, GDP PER CAPITA, EXPORTS, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPING ECONOMIES, ECONOMIC STRUCTURE, INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION, INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, MARKET SHARES, NEW PRODUCTS, VARIABLES, PRODUCTION STRUCTURES, PRICE, INPUTS, EXTERNAL TRADE, FACTOR ENDOWMENTS, POLICY MEASURES, DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS, MACROECONOMIC STABILITY, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT, LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES, NEW PRODUCT, DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES, HIGH CONCENTRATION, RELATIVE IMPORTANCE, PRODUCTS, DEMOCRACY, MIDDLE-INCOME ECONOMIES, GLOBALIZATION, EMERGING MARKET, BARRIERS TO ENTRY, GROWTH DETERMINANTS, MARKETS, GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT PER CAPITA, INCOME LEVELS, IMPORTS, OUTPUT GROWTH, EXPORT DIVERSIFICATION, NATURAL RESOURCES, GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, SUBSIDIES, REAL ESTATE, LIBERALIZATION, ECONOMIC RESEARCH, EXTERNAL FACTORS, MACROECONOMIC STABILIZATION, EMERGING MARKETS, INVESTORS, PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH, MACROECONOMIC INSTABILITY, HUMAN CAPITAL, VALUE ADDED, COUNTRY LEVEL, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, VOLATILITY, BARRIERS, EXTERNAL CONDITIONS, AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS, VALUE, GROWTH PROSPECTS, CREDIT, COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES, FOREIGN INVESTMENT, SUSTAINABLE GROWTH, ECONOMY, CAPITAL NEEDS, AGRICULTURE, INCOMES, ESTIMATED COEFFICIENTS, BORROWING COUNTRIES, SHARES, FOREIGN EXCHANGE, MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRY, COUNTRY DATA, ECONOMICS, DIVERSIFICATION, OUTPUT, FIXED EFFECTS, GOVERNANCE, EXPOSURE, ENFORCEMENT, DATA SETS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, TRADE, GDP, DOMESTIC PRICES, GOODS, LAND, DOMESTIC ECONOMY, GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES, BILATERAL TRADE, INVESTMENT, GROWTH REGRESSIONS, NATURAL RESOURCE, SHARE, GROWTH REGRESSION, EXTERNAL SHOCKS, CROSS-COUNTRY ANALYSIS, WORLD TRADE, POLICY RESEARCH, RAPID GROWTH, POOR GOVERNANCE, COMMODITIES, OIL EXPORTER, FOOD PROCESSING, MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCE, PRICES, PRODUCTION COSTS, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, GROWTH