Gideon Ndubuisi
Maastricht University, UNU-MERIT, Graduate Student
The Western Balkan region has significantly improved in terms of innovation performance in the last ten years. However, in catching up with other European regions, the focus of innovation efforts should be enhanced. Exports are still far... more
The Western Balkan region has significantly improved in terms of innovation performance in the last ten years. However, in catching up with other European regions, the focus of innovation efforts should be enhanced. Exports are still far more focused on medium- and low-technology products. Innovative efforts mostly accommodate traditionally strong sectors, which do not necessarily reflect the ideal competitiveness paths for economies in the region. Although some Western Balkan economies record increases in patent activity, patent intensity in the region is still low, while, on the other hand, scientific publication production displays a stable growth trend. While Western Balkan economies are at different stages in the formation of research and innovation (RI (ii) capacity-building activities for technology transfer, in particular through specialised workshops, tools and instruments specifically designed to assist the academic institutions in the regional economies; (iii) support to ...
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This paper examines the relationship between real economic activity and the financial and commodity markets using two approaches. First, we use the Discrete Wavelet Method to investigate the lead-lag dependence between real economic... more
This paper examines the relationship between real economic activity and the financial and commodity markets using two approaches. First, we use the Discrete Wavelet Method to investigate the lead-lag dependence between real economic activity and these markets. Second, we use the Time-Varying Parameter VAR (TVP-VAR) model with stochastic volatility to examine the short- and long-term level of integration among these variables. Our wavelet results show that although the real economic activity shock lead co-movement with the chosen markets, it was led by these markets during periods of economic downturn as evidenced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regarding the TVP-VAR results, we find that the connectedness between economic activity and the chosen markets is stronger during economic downturns or in the long run. © 2022
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We examine how participation and positioning in global value chains (GVC) affect wages. We also examine whether this relationship is conditioned by a country’s development level and labour market regulation. The results show that... more
We examine how participation and positioning in global value chains (GVC) affect wages. We also examine whether this relationship is conditioned by a country’s development level and labour market regulation. The results show that participation and upstream specialisation in GVCs are associated with higher wages but only in developed countries. In developing countries, while GVC participation is associated with higher wages, upstream specialisation exerts downward pressure on wages. For analysis focusing on the role of labour market regulation, we find that GVC participation only exerts a positive effect on wages under stringent labour market regulation. Under flexible labour market conditions, it exerts downward pressure on wages but allows for the effective reallocation of GVC workers into knowledge-intensive and high value added upstream activities in the value chain that are more productive and wage rewarding. Additional analysis on the effects of GVCs along the wage distribution...
Exposure to import competition can either help or hurt domestic employment creation. There is, however, a dearth of cross-country empirical evidence assessing labor market effects of import penetration in Africa. This paper fills this... more
Exposure to import competition can either help or hurt domestic employment creation. There is, however, a dearth of cross-country empirical evidence assessing labor market effects of import penetration in Africa. This paper fills this gap. Using manufacturing industry and establishment-level data across 20 African countries and estimating a conditional and unconditional labor demand model, we find an unambiguous employment creation effect of intermediate good import penetration, whilst final good import penetration has a negative, or at best, an insignificant effect on employment. Splitting intermediate good import penetration into their origins, we find that intermediate good import penetration from developed (developing) countries is employment increasing (reducing). Further analyses reveal that the positive employment effects of intermediate import penetration from developed countries disproportionately benefit the skilled workforce. We also find that industries with higher absor...
This paper examines the relationship between real economic activity and the financial and commodity markets using two approaches. First, we use the Discrete Wavelet Method to investigate the lead-lag dependence between real economic... more
This paper examines the relationship between real economic activity and the financial and commodity markets using two approaches. First, we use the Discrete Wavelet Method to investigate the lead-lag dependence between real economic activity and these markets. Second, we use the Time-Varying Parameter VAR (TVP-VAR) model with stochastic volatility to examine the short- and long-term level of integration among these variables. Our wavelet results show that although the real economic activity shock lead co-movement with the chosen markets, it was led by these markets during periods of economic downturn as evidenced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regarding the TVP-VAR results, we find that the connectedness between economic activity and the chosen markets is stronger during economic downturns or in the long run. © 2022
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Recent studies on the export effects of domestic intellectual property rights protection focus on the innovation, border and technology transfer channels to underscore the pathways by which effective domestic IPRs protection influences... more
Recent studies on the export effects of domestic intellectual property rights protection focus on the innovation, border and technology transfer channels to underscore the pathways by which effective domestic IPRs protection influences own country's export. I extend this literature by arguing that another pathway domestic IPRs protection affects own country's export is via the credit channel i.e. firms access to external finance. Among many others, this occurs because effective domestic IPRs protection creates a scenario wherein exporters can use their intellectual properties in the same way they use tangible assets as collateral in order to overcome the huge variable and upfront fixed costs they face. To underscore this pathway, I evaluate the export effect of domestic IPRs protection within the comparative model framework and find empirical evidence for my hypothesis, with the results indicating that countries with more effective IPRs protection export more from sectors th...
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Digitalization and robotization are two essential aspects of modern technological advancement. Albeit, the former has gained scholastic attention of empirical trade economists, the latter has not. This paper, therefore, examines the... more
Digitalization and robotization are two essential aspects of modern technological advancement. Albeit, the former has gained scholastic attention of empirical trade economists, the latter has not. This paper, therefore, examines the impact of robotization on trade. Specifically, we estimate empirically the effect of robotization on total exports, and further examine its effect on the different export margins. We find robust evidence that robotization increases total exports, and this effect works both along the extensive (number of exported product varieties) and intensive margins (average value of exported product variety). Results obtained using the volume and price of exports suggest that the positive effect of robotization on the intensive margin is driven by increases in both the quantity and unit prices of exports. Redefining the margins as the number of market destinations and the number of product by market destination, our results also show a positive effect of robotization.
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How trade related is Intellectual property right (IPRs) protection? Extant studies examining the relationship between domestic Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) protection and trade focus predominately on imports whilst neglecting... more
How trade related is Intellectual property right (IPRs) protection? Extant studies examining the relationship between domestic Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) protection and trade focus predominately on imports whilst neglecting exports. This paper focuses on the latter, further examining the effect of domestic IPRs on the margins of exports. Results from the study reveal that IPRs are trade-related and that it can be a tool for stimulating exports in both developed and developing countries. We also find that the level of IPRs in the exporting country matters more to the exporter than the level of IPRs in the importing country. Examining the different export margins, we obtain robust evidence suggesting that stronger IPRs in the exporter country works largely along the extensive margin, with coefficients on the intensive margin tending to be insignificant. We discuss the welfare and growth implications of these findings in the conclusion.
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The need for an open - minded comparative analysis between nations of the developing world cannot be more warranted than it is now, hence the comparative evaluation of the Giant of Africa – Nigeria and the Warrior King – Ghana, both of... more
The need for an open - minded comparative analysis between nations of the developing world cannot be more warranted than it is now, hence the comparative evaluation of the Giant of Africa – Nigeria and the Warrior King – Ghana, both of West Africa. The study based the analysis on three key dimensions – Historical Reviews, Economic dimension and the Social/Political dimension that determine economic development of a nation. On the Economic and Social/Political dimensions, emphasis was on those variables such as Education, Health, Electricity Consumption, Corruption, Voice and Accountability, Government Effectiveness, Regulatory Quality, Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism and then Rule of Law which affect economic outcomes and hence national development. Using descriptive statistics, it was discovered that though the Giant and the Warrior king are still developing economies of the world, the Warrior King outperforms the Giant on their respective strive for economic ...
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Using the South African Revenue Service and National Treasury firm-level panel data for 2009-17, this paper investigates how global value chain-related trade affects the export performance of manufacturing firms in South Africa. In... more
Using the South African Revenue Service and National Treasury firm-level panel data for 2009-17, this paper investigates how global value chain-related trade affects the export performance of manufacturing firms in South Africa. In particular, the paper uses extant classifications of internationally traded products to identify different categories of global value chain-related products and compares the productivity premium of international traders for these different categories.
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It has been extensively argued that trust-based social capital expands access to credit. We embed this argument in the "credit-constrained literature," which documents inter-sector differences in financial vulnerability. We... more
It has been extensively argued that trust-based social capital expands access to credit. We embed this argument in the "credit-constrained literature," which documents inter-sector differences in financial vulnerability. We argue that financially constrained sectors are relatively better off in countries with a higher social trust level. Employing bilateral trade data comprising 50 countries' exports in 27 sectors during 1996-2008, we find that countries with a higher social trust level export more in financially vulnerable sectors because they export more products to each destination (extensive margin) and sell more of each product (intensive margin), which is in line with our hypothesis. With the exception of the intensive margin, these results are robust to a battery of sensitivity checks, including controlling for formal financing.
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Informal contracting institutions constitute an essential part of a country’s overall contracting institution, however, the nascent literature examining the effect of contracting institutions on the quality of products a country produces... more
Informal contracting institutions constitute an essential part of a country’s overall contracting institution, however, the nascent literature examining the effect of contracting institutions on the quality of products a country produces and exports, have paid a limited attention on the role of informal contracting institutions. We fill this gap in the literature by examining whether higher trust levels, as an informal contracting institution, leads to product-quality upgrading by reducing contractual frictions and opportunistic behaviors. Using industry-level data spanning 1995–2014, we examined this relationship using the generalized difference-in-difference method. We find that contract-intensive industries in trust-intensive societies experience a disproportionally higher increase in the production and export of higher-quality products compared to those industries in low-trusting societies. This result holds after controlling for conventional sources of comparative advantage and...
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Several existing studies have documented a negative relationship between firm financial constraint and export activities but do not attempt to examine factors that could attenuate this relationship in Africa. In this paper, we examine the... more
Several existing studies have documented a negative relationship between firm financial constraint and export activities but do not attempt to examine factors that could attenuate this relationship in Africa. In this paper, we examine the effect of financial constraint on exports in Africa and explore how the level of trust in countries where firms are located shapes this relationship. We combine the World Bank Enterprise Surveys with different measures of country-level personal and interpersonal trust computed from the Afrobarometer surveys of 19 African countries. Our results show that financial constraints negatively affect export activities. However, this negative effect is attenuated for firms that are located in trust-intensive societies. These findings are robust to different specifications. Interestingly, we find that small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa are more likely to be affected by financial constraints but also more likely to benefit from a higher level of bot...