Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Ndubuisi, Gideon
Author-Email: ndubuisi@merit.unu.edu
Author-Workplace-Name: UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University
Author-Name: Owusu, Solomon
Author-Email: owusu@merit.unu.edu
Author-Workplace-Name: UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University
Title: How important is GVC participation to export upgrading
Abstract: Exporting higher-quality and complex products are deemed pathways to
	 economic growth and development. However, producing such products are
	 knowledge-intensive and require quality intermediate inputs and advanced
	 technologies. Integration into global trade networks is increasingly
	 argued to be amongst the pathways to obtain such inputs and
	 technologies, although not all countries may benefit equally from such
	 integration. This paper builds on these arguments and investigates how
	 participation in the global value chain (GVC) affects export-quality. We
	 use a sample of 120 developed and developing countries and find that
	 participation in GVC impacts positively on export quality and, also,
	 brings the export quality of countries closer to the quality frontier,
	 but these effects only work through backward linkages. While this result
	 persists in the sub-sample comprising developing economies, we, however,
	 find that developed countries benefit from both forward and backward
	 linkages in GVC. Overall, the results indicate that GVC participation
	 matters to export upgrading but points to a potential heterogeneity on
	 the channel of impact across countries at different levels of development.
Classification-JEL: F00, F01, F14, O10, O24, O25
Keywords: Global Value Chains, Quality Products, Export Products, Quality of Exports
Series: UNU-MERIT Working Papers
Creation-Date: 20200605
Number: 2020-026
File-URL: https://unu-merit.nl/publications/wppdf/2020/wp2020-026.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 275 Kb
Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2020026