Competitiveness and External Trade Performance of the French Manufacturing Industry

Author/Editor:

Pierre-Richard Agénor

Publication Date:

December 1, 1995

Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary:

This paper provides an assessment of competitiveness and external trade performance of the French manufacturing industry during the 1980s and early 1990s. The first part of the paper reviews developments in a broad range of competitiveness indicators. The analysis indicates that the manufacturing sector appears to have maintained its competitive position in recent years. The second part discusses developments in export market shares. The third part estimates a vector error correction model relating the trade ratio to relative unit labor costs, domestic and foreign demand, and nonprice competitiveness. Variance decompositions suggest that fluctuations in price and nonprice competitiveness account for about two-fifths of fluctuations in manufacturing trade flows.

Series:

Working Paper No. 1995/137

Subject:

Competition Economic sectors Export performance Exports Financial markets International trade Labor Labor costs Manufacturing

English

Publication Date:

December 1, 1995

ISBN/ISSN:

9781451855869/1018-5941

Stock No:

WPIEA1371995

Pages:

42

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