Time as a Determinant of Comparative Advantage

Wilson, John S.; Li, Yue

Time as a Determinant of Comparative Advantage

Autores

Descripción

It is assumed that added time to export adds cost to and lowers the volume of trade. Time delays may also affect the composition of trade and can disproportionately reduce trade in time-sensitive goods. This paper investigates the validity of these propositions using the World Bank Doing Business database and Enterprise Surveys for 64 developing countries. The authors find that in countries where there is longer time needed to export firms in time-sensitive industries are less likely to become exporters. Moreover, firms that do export have lower export intensities. Their findings imply that time to export is a significant determinant of comparative advantage. For example, consider two industries that have the same export probability and intensity - but differ in time-sensitivity by one standard deviation. Action taken to cut time to export by 50 percent for one industry opens a 6 percentage point difference between the export probabilities of the two industries. In addition, steps to cut time delays increase export intensities by 1.9 percentage points. This impact applies to industries with different productivity levels -- and those in developing countries with different income levels.

Palabras clave

ADVERSE EFFECTS, AGGREGATE TRADE, AGGREGATE TRADE FLOWS, AGRICULTURE, AIR, AIR TRANSPORT, AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR, BILATERAL TRADE, BORDER TRADE, CAPITAL INVESTMENTS, CAPITAL STOCK, COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE, COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES, CONSUMERS, COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS, CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATION, CUSTOMS CLEARANCE, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH, DOMESTIC MARKET, ECONOMIC RESEARCH, EFFICIENCY OF INFRASTRUCTURE, ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY, EXCHANGE RATES, EXPORT GROWTH, EXPORT INTENSITY, EXPORT MARKET, EXPORT MARKETS, EXPORT ORIENTATION, EXPORT PERFORMANCE, EXPORTERS, EXPORTS, EXTERNAL FINANCE, FACTOR ENDOWMENTS, FINANCIAL RESOURCES, FOREIGN MARKET, FOREIGN MARKETS, FOREIGN OWNERSHIP, FOREIGN SALES, FREIGHT, GDP, GDP PER CAPITA, GLOBAL MARKETS, GLOBAL TRADE, GLOBAL TRADE ANALYSIS, GROWTH POTENTIAL, HUMAN CAPITAL, IMPACT OF TRADE, IMPACT OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION, INCOME, INCOME LEVELS, INCREASING RETURNS, INEFFICIENCY, INFLATION RATES, INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT, INLAND TRANSPORT, INSPECTION, INTERMEDIATE INPUTS, INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT, INVENTORY, MACHINERY, MANUFACTURING PRODUCTIVITY, MARGINAL EFFECTS, MARKET DEVELOPMENT, MARKET SHARES, METHODOLOGY, PATTERN OF TRADE, PRODUCTIVITY, REGULATORY POLICIES, RESEARCH WORKING PAPERS, SHIPPING CONTAINERS, SUNK COSTS, SURVEY DATA, SURVEY INSTRUMENTS, TARIFF BARRIERS, TARIFF RATES, TECHNIQUES, TERMS OF TRADE, TOTAL COSTS, TRADE BARRIERS, TRADE COSTS, TRADE EFFECT, TRADE FACILITATION, TRADE FLOWS, TRADE LIBERALIZATION, TRADE PATTERNS, TRADE POLICIES, TRADE POLICY, TRADE THEORIES, TRADE VOLUMES, TRANSIT, TRANSPORT COSTS, TRANSPORT MODES, TRANSPORT SYSTEMS, TRANSPORTATION, TRANSPORTATION COST, TRANSPORTATION COSTS, VALIDITY, VALUE ADDED, VOLUME OF TRADE, WAGES, WORLD TRADE, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION