Does international specialization in producer services warrant sustainable growth?

초록

Does international specialization in producer services warrant sustainable growth? This paper seeks to answer the question regarding the relationship between trade specialization in producer services and productivity growth in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries using a difference generalized method of moments. Three indicators of trade specialization (export ratio, revealed comparative advantage, and trade specification index) are adopted as explanatory variables in productivity growth regressions for 12 OECD countries over 1987-2002. The results show both the positive and negative impact of international specialization on producer services on productivity growth; it is only when one country specializes in technology-intensive (or RD-intensive) producer services that international specialization in producer services has a positive impact on productivity growth.

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