Intra-Industry Trade of Arab Countries: An Indicator of Potential Competitiveness

Author/Editor:

Peter J Kunzel ; Oleh Havrylyshyn

Publication Date:

April 1, 1997

Electronic Access:

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Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary:

Recent and ongoing agreements to liberalize trade between the European Union (EU) and Arab countries raises the question as to how the latter will fare in a more competitive environment. This paper uses the Grubel-Lloyd intra-industry trade (IIT) index as an indicator of the degree of industrial specialization to study Arab countries’ ability to compete in a more open trade setting. It concludes that whereas increased specialization has been achieved over the last decade in Arab countries, IIT remains low not only in absolute terms, but even in a cross-country comparison, when normalized for the level of development.

Series:

Working Paper No. 1997/047

Subject:

Economic sectors Exports International trade Manufacturing National accounts Personal income Trade balance Trade liberalization

English

Publication Date:

April 1, 1997

ISBN/ISSN:

9781451973167/1018-5941

Stock No:

WPIEA0471997

Pages:

26

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