The main objective of this study is to examine the long‐run relationship between export upgrading and economic growth for 67 countries over the period of 1984–2013. For this purpose, a panel cointegration framework that allows to control for parameters heterogeneity, cross‐sectional dependence and non‐stationarity has been deployed. Empirical results yield evidence of a positive and significant effect of export upgrading on economic growth for the full‐sample and high‐income panels, while this effect is negative and significant for low‐income countries and insignificant for middle‐income countries. Particularly, our findings show evidence of an inverted U‐shaped relationship for the global and high‐income panels. However, for low‐income countries relationship between export complexity and economic growth was found to be U‐shaped. These results are robust to several robustness checks and have important policy implications. In developed countries, excessive export complexity may be job‐destructive, and thereby threatens long‐run growth and prosperity. For non‐developed countries, exports' diversification should be prioritized during the first stages of development. Industrial upgrading should not be considered as a strategic economic policy before the economy reaches a minimum level of maturity.

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The objective of this study is to contribute with empirical evidence to the understanding of the determinants of export upgrading measured through two alternative indicators (export complexity level and degree of export diversification) using a cross-country panel dataset over the 1999-2013 period. For this purpose, a panel cointegration framework and two homogenous subpanels have been considered based on the income level of the sample countries (upper-middle and high income groups, low and lower-middle income groups). Based on the Dynamic OLS (DOLS) and Fully Modified OLS (FMOLS) technique, the results indicate that export upgrading of countries is enhanced by GDP per capita, knowledge creation ( this variable is differentiated into internal knowledge(i.e humain capital and research & development) and external knowledge (i.e Foreign Direct Investment and imports) and Institutional quality. The effects of these determinants vary between low, lower-middle income, upper-middle and high income country.

No abstract

The objective of this study is to contribute with empirical evidence to the understanding of the determinants of export upgrading measured through two alternative indicators (export complexity level and degree of export diversification) using a cross-country panel dataset over the 1999-2013 period. For this purpose, a panel cointegration framework and two homogeneous subpanels have been considered based on the income level of the sample countries (upper-middle and high income groups, low and lower-middle income groups). Based on the Dynamic OLS (DOLS) and Fully Modified OLS (FMOLS) technique, the results indicate that export upgrading of countries is enhanced by GDP per capita, knowledge creation ( this variable is differentiated into internal knowledge(i.e human capital and research & development) and external knowledge (i.e Foreign Direct Investment and imports) and Institutional quality. The effects of these determinants vary between low, lower-middle income, upper-middle and high income country.