• Korea Trade Review
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.1-27
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• 2017

The purpose of this paper is to examine how industry-level R&D investments increase exports in Korean manufacturing industries through the strengthening of product competitiveness and cost competitiveness. We developed a research model indicating that R&D investments positively affect product competitiveness and cost competitiveness, in which investments in R&D will finally lead to increases in exports in manufacturing industries. Product competitiveness is divided into new product innovation capability and product quality competitiveness, while cost competitive advantage is divided into labor productivity and capital productivity. We have collected data from 20 manufacturing industries between 2004 and 2014, and analyzed them through path analysis. Empirical results of this study are as follows. First, R&D investment in the manufacturing industry positively affects new product innovation capability, product quality competitiveness, labor productivity and capital productivity of the industries. Second, increased product quality competitiveness, labor productivity and capital productivity positively affects exports of Korean manufacturing industries. Thus, we can conclude that R&D investments in Korean manufacturing industries positively influence exports through increases in product quality competitiveness, labor productivity and capital productivity.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.101-118
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• 2020

This study aims to quantify the effects of non-tariff measures (NTMs) on exports in the Korean manufacturing industry. To do this, we employ product-level export data that includes information about whether or not a product is affected by NTMs. One of the main results is that NTMs (SPS/TBT) on average led to reduction in Korean exports. However, the effects of NTMs differed depending on the income level of the NTM-imposing country. The NTMs imposed by high-income countries, such as U.S.A. and Japan, were found to impede Korean exports, whereas the export effect of NTMs imposed by low-income countries such as China was found to not be statistically significant. In addition, the results analyzed based across industries, income level, and types of NTMs are as follows. First, NTMs imposed on textile-related products generally hindered exports regardless of the type of NTMs, but its negative impact on exports was noticeable in the case of NTMs originating from high-income countries. On the other hand, chemical product-related NTMs were found to lead to an increase in Korean exports, and it had a positive effect in the case of SPS imposed by low-income countries. In other industries except for textile- and chemical-related products, the effects of NTMs on exports were either statistically insignificant or showed inconsistent patterns.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2019

This paper studies whether export diversification mitigated the negative effect of the global financial crisis on exports using the Korean case. Specifically, we use annual data on the exports of 24 Korean manufacturing industries from 2000 to 2016 and examine whether the negative effect of the crisis on exports was less prevalent in industries that were more diversified in terms of country and product. We also examine whether export competitiveness, as measured by the revealed comparative advantage index by industry, had a mitigating effect on trade during the crisis. In order to study these issues, we use panel regression with a fixed-effect model for 24 Korean manufacturing industries. From our empirical analysis, we find that country diversification weakened the negative impact of the global financial crisis on Korea's exports, whereas neither product diversification nor export competitiveness did so.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.99-121
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• 2021

This paper investigates the relationship between the minimum wage and firm's export behavior by using firm-level data of Vietnamese manufacturing enterprises over the period 2010 through 2015. In this regard, I apply the logistic regression model for the probability of exporting and the differences-in-differences analysis to the data, and find that raising minimum wage standards drive no new exporters but a rise in a firm's export sales. Less productive and more labor-intensive firms raise their amount of exports in response to increasing minimum wage levels. Being exposed to increasing minimum wage levels makes a firm under-perform in terms of export sales compared to non-exposed firms.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.211-228
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• 2022

With the advent of a recent knowledge-based society, interest in patents is steadily increasing. The patent is an important indicator that can capture the level of R&D investment and technology development. In an era of deepening new protectionism and the pandemic of COVID-19, patents play an important role in sustainable economic development and establishing a strong domestic industrial ecosystem. In this paper, we analyze the impact of patent applications on the corporate performance of the Korean manufacturing industry over the past 21 years from 1999 to 2019. We divide patents into overseas patents and domestic patents and analyze the respective effects on the entire manufacturing industry, ICT industries, and non-ICT industries. Major findings are summarized as follows. First, patents have a positive effect on both exports and sales of Korean manufacturing companies. Second, overseas patents have a greater impact on corporate performance than domestic patents. Third, Patents have a more positive effect on ICT industries than on non-ICT industries.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.462-473
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• 2008

In recent years, Korea's apparel exports to the USA have faced a great threat, as the trade environment around the world has changed continually. The purpose of this study is to analyze the competitive position of Korean apparel exports to the USA, and to enhance export competitiveness by applying to offshore sourcing. The trade data of the Office of Textiles and Apparel(OTEXA) in the U.S. Department of Commerce were selected for inquiry about export competitiveness of apparel products made in Korea. In addition, we targeted members of the Korea Apparel Industry Association among the 500 exporters of clothing items in "The Import and Export Textile Product 2003." A total 70 sheets were analyzed. The results of this study were as follows: 1) Korean apparel exports to USA have decreased by 20-35 percent per year since 2005 under the Free Trade Area, showing that Korean apparel industries have not adapted to the new trade environment. Although Korean apparel exports to USA have indicated a trade surplus from now on, Korean apparel industries should find new ways to overcome this situation, diminishing exports and increasing imports. 2) Korean apparel companies selected more offshore sourcing than domestic sourcing. Also, as Korean apparel companies manufactured apparel products offshore, foreign subcontracting outranked manufacturing in their own foreign plants. When they chose foreign countries to source, they turned mainly to China and Vietnam. Also, they considered the target country's manufacturing price, labor stability, apparel products, quality, lead time, and so on. In order to increase apparel exports, Korean apparel industries should focus more on developing competitively new apparel products, improving the ability of sourcing management, and establishing on-the-spot agencies.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.13-24
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• 2022

The main goal of this study is to look at how South Korea can catch up to the rest of the world through policy-driven structural change and manufacturing revolutions. To achieve the objective, this study used annual data on real exports and real GDP from the World Development Indicator WDI of South Korea for the period 1960 to 2019. The study's goal is to use econometrics to detect this policy-driven structural change trend. Multiple nonlinear Granger causality test was used to accomplish this. The findings revealed structural breaks and nonlinearities in the dynamic link between South Korea's real GDP and real exports. Furthermore, results also show evidence of multiple structural breaks in South Korean data. South Korea's economic catch-up was the result of a constant reevaluation of industrial policies, readjustment, and structural change to constantly explore and utilize comparative advantage, realizing economies of scale at the global level, and reallocating and redistribution of resources towards productive sectors with high value-added output, according to econometric analysis. If South Korea would have not done this structural change this miracle to escape the middle-income trap would not have been possible. These findings support the descriptive evidence of structural change in favor of manufacturing revolutions and value addition industry development in South Korea.

• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.22
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• pp.1-23
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• 2007

This paper investigates the relationships between exports, firm size, and firm dynamics. It is based on a longitudinal data covering listed firms in the Korean manufacturing industry. We found the stylized fact that the probability that a firm is exporter increases with firm size. A regression model for the determinant of export/sales ratio including dynamic adjustment process is tested on a cross-section sample for the year 2001. Empirical findings suggest that there is a positive and inversely U-shaped relationship between firm size and export/sales ratio, just for basic material and capital good industry. Except for firm size, the hypotheses concerning human capital intensity, physical capital intensity, R&D intensity, and patent are rejected. Using Granger causality test, we found that the rate of growth of total sales influences the change of the export/sales ratio with time lag for medium-sized firms. Finally, some policy implications are presented.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.35-42
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• 2022

The paper aims to examine the impact of exports on the growth of Vietnamese manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by exploring the information of 36,053 enterprises across 24 manufacturing sectors from the Vietnam Annual Enterprise Survey (VAES) in the period 2014-2019. To deal with the problem of variable variance, autocorrelation, and endogeneity of the model, the paper uses the OLS regression method with a strong standard error method and system GMM. Export participation by SMEs is positively associated with business growth in terms of sales and total assets, according to the findings. The GMM estimate shows that the rate of sales growth among exporters is 36.5 percent greater than that of non-exporting enterprises in the case of the sales growth measure. Exporters' average total asset growth rate is 19% greater than the rate estimated for non-exporting businesses. The study's findings indicate the need of adopting policies that promote SMEs in transition economies like Vietnam to engage in exporting activities. Furthermore, the findings show that financial assistance and suitable ownership would enable SMEs to take advantage of export opportunities to increase sales and total assets.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.37-56
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• 2017

This study analyzed the mutual causal relationship between energy consumption, production, and export for manufacturing industry in Korea. The Korean manufacturing industry was divided into nine industries and panel data was constructed from 1991 to 2013. The panel Granger causality test method developed by Demitrescu and Hurlin (2012) was used along with the Vector Error Correction Model. This analysis showed that there was Granger Causality from production to energy consumption, from exports to energy consumption. However, Granger Causality was not established in the opposite direction. Therefore, this result supports the conservation hypothesis of Qzturk (2010) that energy-saving policies in the manufacturing sector can be implemented without adverse effects on production or exports in short-run. There is a long-run cointegrating relationship between production, energy consumption, exports, labor, and capital in the Korean manufacturing sector. Furthermore, the energy consumption contributes to the increasing of production in long-run equilibrium relationship.