Hard and soft factors of trade facilitation and export diversification: Evidence for developing and the least developed countries

KURUL Z.

Developing Economies, cilt.61, sa.2, ss.75-116, 2023 (SSCI) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 61 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2023
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1111/deve.12349
  • Dergi Adı: Developing Economies
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, ABI/INFORM, Business Source Elite, Business Source Premier, CAB Abstracts, EconLit, Geobase, Index Islamicus, PAIS International, Political Science Complete, Sociological abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.75-116
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Developing countries, Export diversification, Hard and soft factors of trade facilitation, Least developed countries
  • Hacettepe Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study examines how developing and the least developed countries (LDCs) can foster export diversification by considering trade facilitation as an effective policy option. Unlike previous studies, this paper constructs composite indicators—namely, hard and soft factors of trade facilitation—to better clarify which trade facilitation aspect is a matter of priority. Also, it uses the number of products and markets based on Harmonized System (HS) six-digit level as export diversification measures. Finally, it investigates the differentiated impacts of hard and soft factors on export diversification in the LDCs. For the period 2007–17 and 92 countries, the results reveal that border efficiency promotes variety in products and markets, and the availability and quality of infrastructure enhances variety in markets for the whole sample of countries. Moreover, strengthening the availability and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) plays a significant role in the LDCs' export diversification.