The Role of Trade Costs in Global Production Networks : Evidence from China’s Processing Trade Regime
In a seminal contribution, Yi (2003) has shown that vertically specialized trade should be more sensitive to changes in trade costs than regular trade. Yet empirical evidence of this remains remarkably scant. This paper uses data from China's...
Main Authors: | , |
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Language: | English |
Published: |
2012
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20101201135542 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3973 |
Summary: | In a seminal contribution, Yi (2003) has
shown that vertically specialized trade should be more
sensitive to changes in trade costs than regular trade. Yet
empirical evidence of this remains remarkably scant. This
paper uses data from China's processing trade regime to
analyze the role of trade costs on trade within global
production networks (GPNs). Under this regime, firms are
granted duty exemptions on imported inputs as long as they
are used solely for export purposes. As a result, the data
provide information on trade between three sequential nodes
of a global supply chain: the location of input production,
the location of processing (in China) and the location of
further consumption. This makes it possible to examine the
role of both trade costs related to the import of inputs
(upstream trade costs) and trade costs related to the export
of final goods (downstream trade costs) on intra-GPN trade.
The authors show that intra-GPN trade differs from regular
trade in that it not only depends on downstream trade costs,
but also on upstream trade costs and the interaction of
both. Moreover, intra-GPN trade is more sensitive to oil
price movements and business cycle movements than regular
trade. Finally, the paper analyzes three channels through
which intra-GPN trade have amplified the trade collapse
during the recent Global Recession. |
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