Export Diversification:What’s behind the Hump?

The paper explores the evolution of export diversification patterns along the economic development path. Using a large database with 159 countries over 17 years at the HS6 level of disaggregation (4’998 product lines) we look for action at the “intensive” and “extensive” margins (diversification of export values among active product lines and by addition of new product lines respectively) using various export concentration indices and the number of active export lines. We also look at new product introduction as an indicator of “export-entrepreneurship”. We find a hump-shaped pattern of export diversification similar to what Imbs and Wacziarg (2003) found for production and employment. Low and Middle income countries diversify mostly along the extensive margin whereas high income countries diversify along the intensive margin and ultimately re-concentrate their exports towards fewer products. Such hump-shaped pattern is consistent with the conjecture that countries travel across diversification cones as discussed in Schott (2003, 2004) and Xiang (2007).Export diversification, international trade, Latin America

Export Diversification: What’s behind the Hump?

The paper explores the evolution of export diversification patterns along the economic development path. Using a large database with 156 countries over 19 years at the HS6 level of disaggregation (4’991 product lines) we look for action at the “intensive” and “extensive” margins (diversification of export values among active product lines and by addition of new product lines respectively) using various export concentration indices and the number of active export lines. We also look at new product introduction as an indicator of “export-entrepreneurship”. We find a hump-shaped pattern of export diversification similar to what Imbs and Wacziarg (2003) found for production and employment. Diversification and subsequent re-concentration take place mostly along the extensive margin, although the intensive margin follows the same pattern. This hump-shaped pattern is consistent with the conjecture that countries travel across diversification cones, as discussed in Schott (2003, 2004) and Xiang (2007).international trade, Export diversification

Diversification of Indian Agriculture: Composition, Determinants and Trade Implications

The pattern of diversification across states/crops in India has been schematized and various determinants of diversification have been deciphered. To objectively confer the empirical resonance, values of Simpson index have been estimated. The diversification index (SID) has been found to range from 0.47 (WB) to 0.90 (Karnataka) in 1990-91 and from 0.40 (Orissa) to 0.92 (Karnataka) in 2000-01. The increase in diversification Index signifies shift towards non-foodgrain crops. In Karnataka, though the Index has increased, but the similar increases in area under foodgrain imply shift from coarse to fine cereals. Agricultural diversification is influenced by a number of infrastructural and technological factors. The coefficients have indicated that the presence of electricity and road density are negatively associated with the diversification. In the year 2001-02, large share of export earnings has come from non-traditional items, namely rice, fruits, vegetables, livestock and marine products, signifying positive boost to diversification. Indian agriculture has witnessed diversification with impressive improvements in the shares of livestock and fisheries sectors in the total income from agriculture. Within the crop sector, the diversification has largely been in favour of non-foodgrains crops in most of the states. However, diversification in these states has not been essentially for income generation, but also for the risk-mitigating proposition. However, harnessing the potential of diversification presupposes gradual restructuring of diversification hindering market institutions, infrastructure and quality standards.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Export Diversification: What's behind the Hump?

The paper explores the evolution of export diversification patterns along the economic development path. Using a large database with 156 countries over 19 years at the HS6 level of disaggregation (4'991 product lines) we look for action at the “intensive” and “extensive” margins (diversification of export values among active product lines and by addition of new product lines respectively) using various export concentration indices and the number of active export lines. We also look at new product introduction as an indicator of “export-entrepreneurship”. We find a hump-shaped pattern of export diversification similar to what Imbs and Wacziarg (2003) found for production and employment. Diversification and subsequent re-concentration take place mostly along the extensive margin, although the intensive margin follows the same pattern. This hump-shaped pattern is consistent with the conjecture that countries travel across diversification cones, as discussed in Schott (2003, 2004) and Xiang (2007).international trade;Export diversification

Pattern of Agricultural Diversification in India

Agricultural diversification as measured by increase in the percent of non-food crops has grown; whereas diversification as measured by the concentration indices has remained unchanged in the recent decade. There have been significant changes in the pattern of agricultural diversification at the regional level. Within a region, smaller sub-regions or pockets of specialization in certain crops and crop-groups have emerged. Farms do not remain diversified and the usual notion of crop diversification as a risk management practice is also belied in the present study. The study also found certain kind of structural changes in all sub-sectors of agriculture : crop, livestock, and fisheries. Concerns over extreme effects of such changes are however, not valid.agricultural diversification, Agriculture Analysis, India, non-food crops, crop, livestock, and fisheries

Phylogenetic and phenotypic divergence of an insular radiation of birds

Evolutionary divergence of lineages is one of the key mechanisms underpinning large scale patterns in biogeography and biodiversity. Island systems have been highly influential in shaping theories of evolutionary diversification and here I use the insular Zosteropidae of the south west Pacific to investigate the roles of ecology and biogeography in promoting evolutionary divergence. Initially I build a phylogenetic tree of the study group and use it to reveal the pattern of colonisation and diversification. My results suggest a complex history of dispersal with the observed pattern most likely a result of repeated bouts of colonisation and extinction. I then use the new phylogeny to quantify the diversification rates of the Zosteropidae. I find a very high rate of lineage divergence and suggest the most likely explanation relates to extensive niche availability in the south west Pacific. I also find evidence for an overall slowdown in diversification combined with repeated bursts of accelerated speciation, consistent with a model of taxon cycles. I do not find evidence for sympatric speciation, however. Finally I combine morphological and phylogenetic data to investigate the mode of evolution, evidence for character displacement and influence of biogeography on trait evolution. I find little support for the traditional theory of character displacement in sympatric species. I do, however, find some support for biogeographic theories. Taken together my results do not support traditional theories on the ecological and biogeographical basis of divergence, even in those cases where Zosterops have been used as exemplars. This appears to be because those theories assume rather simple patterns of colonisation and a static ecological system. Instead, my results suggest that evolutionary diversification is dominated by recurrent waves of colonisation and extinction, which, viewed at any particular moment, tend to obscure any underlying ecological rules

Pattern diversities in cropping systems in tribal regions: a case study of Jhabua tribal district in Madhya Pradesh, India

Agricultural development has been analysed by studying the cropping pattern and cropping diversification and crop specialization in any agro-ecosystem in regional and temporal framework. Tribal regions are experiencing agricultural intensification through diversification of cropping systems and crop specialization as a result of ecological economic changes as well as impact of public policy of technology transfer and resource use intensification. The market forces also are influencing the crop intensification as a result of exogenous market demand. In this paper, an attempt is made to analyze the pattern of cropping system in inter regional framework and identify how these patterns have changed over a period of time in Jhabua tribal district of Madhya Pradesh. Such an analysis will help in taking policy decisions for diversification and specialization of crop production in the changing cropping systems in regional framework with the objectives of achieving higher level of regional food production, maximisation of production and income to the farmers through promotion of cash crops etc. The analysis of the pattern diversity in regional framework would indicate to the eco-regional and exogenous impacts of market and public policies following the law of entropy.Cropping pattern, diversification, tribal regions

The International Diversification Puzzle Is Not as Bad as You Think

In simple one-good international macro models, the presence of non-diversifiable labor income risk means that country portfolios should be heavily biased toward foreign assets. The fact that the opposite pattern of diversification is observed empirically constitutes the international diversification puzzle. We embed a portfolio choice decision in a frictionless two-country, twogood version of the stochastic growth model. In this environment, which is a workhorse for international business cycle research, we derive a closed-form expression for equilibrium country portfolios. These are biased towards domestic assets, as in the data. Home bias arises because endogenous international relative price fluctuations make domestic stocks a good hedge against non-diversifiable labor income risk. We then use our our theory to link openness to trade to the level of diversification, and find that it offers a quantitatively compelling account for the patterns of international diversification observed across developed economies in recent years.Home bias, international diversification

FARM BENEFITS AND NATURAL RESOURCE PROJECTS IN HONDURAS AND EL SALVADOR

A model of conservation adoption, diversification and household income, including farm and off-farm sources was formalized, wherein households simultaneously allocate assets to different activities. The mapping of assets to household income through both off and on farm activities can conceptually be considered as a production process, with assets corresponding to factors of production and income as the output. Either adoption of conservation technologies and farm output diversification are influenced by participation in natural resource management programs. Therefore, these technological improvements should foster farm production and productivity and, consequently, should be reflected in a greater household income,. Finally, household income improvement is considered a necessary condition for sustainability of the changes introduced by the projects. Overall, the results indicate that the variables more directly reflecting land allocation, such as area with staples and cash crops, output diversification and conservation practices are associated with the greatest gains in household income. Output diversification significantly decreases income from staple crops and greatly increases cash crop income. These results reaffirm the strategic role of diversification in fighting rural poverty. However, gains stemming from a more diversified income portfolio do not occur without cost, since an extra item added to the farm plan implies a reduction in the production of corn and beans (staples). This trade-off between diversification and subsistence food production suggests that switching to a more market-oriented production pattern may increase household food insecurity.Consumer/Household Economics,

Competition, imitation, and technical change : quality vs. variety

Some researchers have documented that the path of development is remarkably related to the pattern of sectoral diversification. Others have highlighted the relation between productive specialization and economic progress. This paper explores the role of product market competition and intellectual property rights protection in the pattern of sectoral diversification. The paper confirms the insight of the innovation literature, that competition induces firms to specialize and upgrade the quality of existing goods. However, it reveals a new force, called the imitation effect, through which competition biases technical change toward product diversification. The paper shows that if knowledge spillovers increase with imitation, or the degree of product substitution is high, weak protection of property rights encourages firms to create low-quality goods, thereby directing technical change toward diversification. The predictions are tested with data on Italian firms'innovation activity. They are found to be consistent with observed behavior.Education for Development (superceded),E-Business,Markets and Market Access,Economic Theory&Research,Labor Policies