Effects of Trade Liberalization on Textile and Apparel Exports from Sub-Sahara Africa

45 Pages Posted: 6 Aug 2019

See all articles by Johannes Van Biesebroeck

Johannes Van Biesebroeck

K.U.Leuven; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Elena Zaurino

KU Leuven - Faculty of Business and Economics (FEB)

Date Written: July 10, 2019

Abstract

This paper estimates the impact of market access liberalization in high-income countries on sub-Saharan African exports. The methodology exploits the large reduction in trade barriers that was induced by three unilateral trade liberalization initiatives: (1) the dismantling of the Multi-Fiber Arrangement, (2) the African Growth and Opportunity Act in the United States, and (3) the extension of EU trade preferences for developed countries through its Everything-but-Arms program and the General System of Preferences. Using detailed product-level information at the 6-digit level of the Harmonized System and a triple-difference empirical specification, the usual endogeneity-of-policy critique is flexibly controlled for. The results indicate strongly positive export effects, which are especially large for textile, apparel, and leather products, and tend to be realized fully within 5 years. Each percentage point reduction in import tariffs raises exports to the EU by 0.73 percent and to the United States by 0.30 percent; effects are two to three times as large for textiles. The presence of strong Chinese imports has ambiguous effects on countries' ability to take advantage of trade liberalization as the impact on the export effects to the EU and the United States show an opposite sign.

Keywords: International Trade and Trade Rules, Macroeconomic Management, Common Carriers Industry, Food & Beverage Industry, Plastics & Rubber Industry, Textiles, Apparel & Leather Industry, Pulp & Paper Industry, Construction Industry, Business Cycles and Stabilization Policies, Energy and Mining, General Manufacturing

Suggested Citation

Van Biesebroeck, Johannes and Zaurino, Elena, Effects of Trade Liberalization on Textile and Apparel Exports from Sub-Sahara Africa (July 10, 2019). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 8936, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3430550

Johannes Van Biesebroeck (Contact Author)

K.U.Leuven ( email )

Naamsestraat 69
B-3000 Leuven
Belgium
+3216326793 (Phone)
+3216326796 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.econ.kuleuven.be/public/N07057/

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

Elena Zaurino

KU Leuven - Faculty of Business and Economics (FEB) ( email )

Naamsestraat 69
Leuven, B-3000
Belgium

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
111
Abstract Views
499
Rank
444,645
PlumX Metrics