Patterns of Export Diversification

Abstract

This paper examines historical trends in the diversification of exports in Pakistan, using the Hirschman index to quantify the degree of export diversification. We analyze the structure of exports through the lens of ‘traditionality,’ for which we construct industry-specific, average cumulative export experience functions, i.e., a traditionality index of all 2-digit export industries in Pakistan from 1972 to 2012. This is useful in distinguishing between traditional and nontraditional export industries. We also study the degree of structural change in the export sector since 1972 by recalculating the traditionality index based on five-year interval periods. The cross-industry variance of this index is then used to calculate the structural change index. Periods for which the index values are low are interpreted as periods during which the export industries experienced uniform patterns of export growth (and thereby no structural change). Periods for which the index values are high are interpreted as periods during which the export industries experienced varied patterns of growth, thus undergoing structural change. Finally, we explore the determinants of structural change in exports by looking at variables such as GDP growth, export growth, the real exchange rate, the growth rate of world trade, trade liberalization, and the degree of product concentration in the country’s export base.