Quality Upgrading and the Stages of Diversification

32 Pages Posted: 4 Apr 2017

See all articles by Chris Papageorgiou

Chris Papageorgiou

International Monetary Fund (IMF) - Research Department

Fidel Perez-Sebastian

Universidad de Alicante - Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences

Nikola Spatafora

World Bank

Date Written: April 4, 2017

Abstract

This paper explores the contribution of product quality upgrading in the process of export diversification. To do this, the paper builds a multisector model following Eaton and Kortum (2002) in which product quality is incorporated as a key feature. The model is then calibrated to generate predictions about the degree of export diversification in a number of East Asian countries. It is shown that quality upgrading is a key factor to understand the changes in the degree of export diversification in the majority of countries in our sample.

Keywords: export diversification, product quality, international trade, structural transformation

JEL Classification: O14, O40, F10

Suggested Citation

Papageorgiou, Chris and Perez-Sebastian, Fidel and Spatafora, Nikola, Quality Upgrading and the Stages of Diversification (April 4, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2946105 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2946105

Chris Papageorgiou

International Monetary Fund (IMF) - Research Department ( email )

700 19th Street NW
Washington, DC 20431
United States

Fidel Perez-Sebastian (Contact Author)

Universidad de Alicante - Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences ( email )

Germán Edifcio Bernácer - Ground floor
Campus of San Vicente del Raspeig
Alicante, 03080
Spain

Nikola Spatafora

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

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