Success of Developing Countries' Export Strategies and World Trade Structure

Abstract

World trade structure is being altered by European 1992

economic integration to highly concentrated from relatively unconcentrated

as measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index.

Export-promotion strategies of developing countries were

effective in an unconcentrated environment in conjunction with

U.S. efforts to lower tariff entry barriers.

Sizeable concentration increases occur from creation of free

trade zones tilting the 1990s toward an oligopolist-oligopsonist

trade environment. This market structure is likely to have larger

entry barriers creating a less favorable environment for

export-promotion policies. Plus large trade zones may attempt

to extract gains out of developing countries.