Average income, income inequality and export unit values

Hélène Latzer and Florian Mayneris

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2021, vol. 185, issue C, 625-646

Abstract: This paper analyses the relationship between a country’s income distribution and its exports’ unit values. Using bilateral export flows, we not only confirm the positive association between a country’s average income and its export unit values, but further identify a heterogeneous relationship with income inequality: we find a greater income spread to be associated with higher export unit values in the case of poor countries only. These results are robust to the inclusion of controls for other determinants of export unit values, as well as to the use of alternative measures of income inequality and of the quality index. We finally discuss various theoretical rationalisations for this heterogeneous relationship between income inequality and the quality content of exports along the average income dimension, and show suggestive evidence that demand-side mechanisms can account for it, at least partly.

Keywords: Income distribution; Export unit values; Product quality; Trade; Home market effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F12 L15 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Related works:
Working Paper: Average income, income inequality and export unit values (2021)
Working Paper: Average income, income inequality and export unit values (2021)
Working Paper: Average income, income inequality and export unit values (2021)
Working Paper: Average income, income inequality and export unit values (2018)
Working Paper: Average income, income inequality and export unit values (2018)
Working Paper: Average income, income inequality and export unit values (2018)
Working Paper: Average income, income inequality and export unit values (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:185:y:2021:i:c:p:625-646

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2021.03.002

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