Exporting, Technical Efficiency and Product Quality: An Empirical Analysis of the Agricultural Sector in the Mediterranean Countries

This paper investigates the association between exporting and agricultural performance in terms of production efficiency and product quality. We test for the learning-by-exporting and self selection effects in a panel of advanced and developing Mediterranean countries involved in global market liber...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of development studies 2009-05, Vol.45 (5), p.769-788
Main Author: Belhaj Hassine, Nadia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural exports
Agricultural Production
Agricultural sector
Agriculture
Cross-national analysis
Developing countries
Economic analysis
Efficiency
Empirical research
Exports
Exports and Imports
Farming
International Trade
LDCs
Mediterranean Countries
Mediterranean Region
Product quality
Quality
Technical efficiency
Trade liberalization
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Summary:This paper investigates the association between exporting and agricultural performance in terms of production efficiency and product quality. We test for the learning-by-exporting and self selection effects in a panel of advanced and developing Mediterranean countries involved in global market liberalisation. Product quality measures are inferred from trade data using a discrete choice demand model, and technical efficiency scores are appraised using a stochastic production frontier approach. Based on joint estimation of the performance equations and a dynamic export probit decision, the empirical results lend strong support to the self-selection hypothesis. Exporting appears to help quality upgrading that encourages more efficient use of resources.
ISSN:0022-0388
1743-9140
DOI:10.1080/00220380902753201