Publication: Are Jordan and Tunisia's Exports Becoming More Technologically Sophisticated? And Why It Matters
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2012-02
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2012-08-13
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The last decade has witnessed two interesting features in international trade. First, high-tech products have become the fastest growing segment of international trade. Second, developing countries are increasingly becoming exporters of high-tech products thanks to greater trade openness, greater ability to master and use technologies, and a rise in foreign direct investments. The objective of this paper is to pinpoint the changes in Jordan and Tunisia's production and export structures over the last decade or so. Authors were use two highly disaggregated panel export database and a 'product-based' methodology that allows a mapping of products classified by technological content and their sector of origin. The database used runs from 2003 to 2010 for Jordan and from 1995 to 2009 for Tunisia, providing a pseudo-panel structure. Finally, improving the environment for innovation may facilitate the movement up the technological ladder in both Jordan and Tunisia.
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“Diop, Ndiame; Ghali, Sofiane. 2012. Are Jordan and Tunisia's Exports Becoming More Technologically Sophisticated? And Why It Matters. MENA Knowledge and Learning Quick Notes Series; No. 57. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10847 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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Publication Are Jordan and Tunisia's Exports Becoming More Technologically Sophisticated?(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-02)There is a growing consensus that what you export matters for growth (see for instance, Haussman and al. 2007 and Krishna and Maloney (2011)). This paper examines whether and to what extent Jordan and Tunisia, the two most globally integrated countries of the Middle East and North Africa region, are moving up the technological ladder. To that effect, we use two highly disaggregated panel export database (products captured at the 11-digit level) and a 'product-based' methodology that allows a mapping of products classified by technological content and their sector of origin. We find that Jordan and Tunisia have experienced contrasting dynamics over the last decade. 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