An Assessment of Commodity Export Performance in South Pacific Countries, 1960 to 1999

Euan M. Fleming and Anita Blowes

No 12949, Working Papers from University of New England, School of Economics

Abstract: We examine export performance and the factors influencing export growth in ten South Pacific countries, concentrating on the comparative influences of geographic endowments, policies and institutions. The countries under study are Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Only Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands experienced a positive trend in total commodity export values. Agricultural export values grew significantly only in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. Most countries experienced growth in non-agricultural commodity export values, albeit from a low base. As a general rule, export performance was superior for countries with richer endowments of natural resources. Geographic factors associated with small size impeded export performance in small South Pacific countries, in particular. Evidence suggests that export performance was not improved by good policies unless those policies were properly implemented. To be satisfactorily implemented, they required soundly operating and effective institutions. Unfortunately, institutional performance deteriorated over the study period and was likely to have adversely affected export performance, particularly in the primary industries.

Keywords: International; Relations/Trade (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40
Date: 2003
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/12949/files/wp030003.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uneewp:12949

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.12949

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers from University of New England, School of Economics Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().