Export platform foreign direct investment : theory and evidence

This paper proposes a model that accounts for “export platform” FDI – a form of FDI that is common in the data but rarely discussed in the theoretical literature. Unlike the previous literature, this paper’s theory nests all the typical modes of supply, including exports, horizontal and vertical FDI, horizontal and vertical export platform FDI. The theory yields the testable hypothesis that a decrease in either inter-regional or intra-regional trade costs induces firms to choose export platform FDI. The empirical analysis provides descriptive statistics which point to large proportions of third country exports of US FDI, and an econometric analysis, whose results are in line with the model’s predictions. The last section suggests policy implications for nations seeking to attract FDI

On the variety of Mexico\u27s export goods

This paper examines the evolution of the variety of Mexico’s export goods using disaggregated trade data. Both the econometric estimation analyses using the raw data and the one using an improved version of Feenstra and Kee\u27s (2004, 2007) methodology proposed in this paper show that NAFTA membership does not enhance the variety of Mexico\u27s export goods. This finding contrasts with NAFTA\u27s positive association with the increase in export variety found in the literature

Did the least developed countries benefit from duty-free quota-free access to the Japanese market?

Countries classified as least developed countries (LDCs) were granted duty-free quota-free (DFQF) access to the Japanese market. This study examines the impact of that access and finds that, in general, it did not benefit the LDCs. The construction of concordance tables for Japan\u27s 9 digit tariff line codes enables analysis at the tariff line level, which overcomes a possible aggregation bias. The exogenous nature of DFQF access mitigates the endogeneity problem. Various estimation models, including the triple difference estimator, show that in general the LDCs did not benefit from DFQF access to the Japanese market. The total value of imports from LDCs has been increasing, but the imports granted both zero tariffs and substantial preference margins over non-LDC countries were not successful. These findings suggest that for LDCs the tariff barrier is a relatively small obstacle: Trade is affected more strongly by other factors, such as infrastructure, nontariff barriers, geographic distance, and cultural differences

Comprehensive Physical Function Assessment in Elderly People

In elderly people with mobility limitations, abnormalities in posture and gait contribute to the greater decline of physical motor function. The aim of the review article was to determine the comprehensive physical motor function assessment. Muscle function was assessed with the grip strength. Gait function was assessed with walking time tests conducted at a normal pace. Balance function was assessed with one‐legged standing time. The 6‐min walking distance test (6MD) was performed in a 10‐m, straight corridor. Walking efficiency during the 6MD trials was measured using the Cosmed K4b2 (Rome, Italy), an indirect calorimetry system specifically designed to measure energy expenditure in nonlaboratory settings. The center of pressure was recorded using a balance board (Wii; Nintendo Co., Ltd., Kyoto, Japan). A vibratory stimulus was applied alternately to two muscles by fixing two vibrators from the vibration device onto the participant’s gastrocnemius and lumbar multifidus muscle. These findings show that an assessment affecting postural control under proprioceptive stimulation might be a good indicator of elderly people. Also, the objective assessment of walking efficiency might be important for identifying the risk of external activity limitation or functional limitations among the late elderly

Revisiting the determinants of unit values

This paper studies the issue of how traded quantities affect trade prices, which has been relatively unexplored in the trade literature. By reproducing previous literatures\u27 regressions which are based on the general equilibrium trade theories, incorporating the role of traded quantities, this paper shows a possibility of prevalence of the second degree price discrimination (quantity discount) in international trade, rather than the pricing behaviour of the general equilibrium theories

New aspects of intra-industry trade in EU countries

Using the HS eight-digit product level trade data of EU countries for the period 1988 – 2010, we analyse Intra-industry trade within EU countries as well as with Eastern European countries and with China. We find the Eastern European countries’ rise up the quality ladder, and by contrast the substantially lower prices of China’s exports to EU countries vis-à-vis China’s imports from them. The contrast between EU trade with the Eastern European countries and with China is present even in very recent years

Product quality and intra-industry trade

In this study, we argue that the conventional intra-industry trade (IIT) index does not address the quality issue directly and propose a methodology to make full use of unit-price gap information to deduce quality differences between simultaneously exported and imported products. By applying this measure to German trade data at the eight-digit level, we study the quality improvement of Chinese export goods in its IIT with Germany. We compare the case of China with those of Eastern European countries, which are also major trading partners of Germany. Our results show that the unit-value difference in IIT between Germany and Eastern European countries is clearly narrowing. However, China\u27s export prices to Germany are much lower than Germany\u27s export prices to China, and this gap has not narrowed over the last 23 years. This is at odds with the common perception that China\u27s product quality has improved, as documented by Rodrik (2006) and Schott (2008). Our results support Xu (2010), which argued that incorporating the quality aspect of the exported goods weakens or even eliminates the evidence of the sophistication of Chinese export goods in Rodrik (2006)

Production fragmentation, upstreamness, and value-added : evidence from factory Asia 1990-2005

We exploit the recent release of the 2005 Asian Input-Output Matrix to dress a picture of the geographic fragmentation of value added in Factory Asia from 1990 to 2005. We document 3 stylized facts. The first is that the average share of foreign value added embedded in production rose by about 7 percentage points between 1990 and 2005, from 9% to 16%. The second is that, contrary to popular belief, China\u27s production embeds a smaller share of foreign value added than other Factory Asia countries\u27. Between 1990 and 2005 among Factory Asia countries China grew most after Japan as a source of value added to other countries\u27 production. Third, country-industries at the upstream and downstream extremities of the supply chain embed a smaller share of foreign value added than those with intermediate levels of upstreamness

New Aspects of Intra-Industry trade: Evidence from EU-15 countries

This paper argues about some missing aspects of intra-industry trade (IIT) and proposes some alternative measures to better capture the nature of IIT. We show the over-time evolution of the number of IIT products, and propose an index which captures the share of the number of IIT products over the number of all traded goods. We also show how arbitrary the conventional classification into Horizontal and Vertical IIT indices are, and then propose a new measure using the unit value difference of IIT products. To discuss these issues we use trade data at HS 8 digit product level of EU 15 countries for the period 1988-2007, mainly within EU countries as well as with Eastern European countries, and with China as major EU trading partners. Our findings include the Eastern European countries' rise up the quality ladder, and the substantially lower prices of China's exports to EU 15 countries vis-à-vis China's imports from them, whose gap is not narrowing even in very recent years.Intra-industry trade, Horizontal and Vertical Product Differentiation, Quality, Unit price gap