The Impact of Foreign Trade in the Graduation Process of Asian Least‑Developed Countries (LDCs)
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Springer Nature
Materia
Least-developed countries Asian LDCs Graduation
Fecha
2023-12-07Referencia bibliográfica
Navarro-Pabsdorf, M., Cuenca-Garcia, E. & Quiros-Gonzalez, E. The Impact of Foreign Trade in the Graduation Process of Asian Least-Developed Countries (LDCs). J Knowl Econ (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-023-01630-0
Patrocinador
Funding for open access publishing: Universidad de Granada/CBUA.Resumen
The importance of development studies comes from the need to assess and solve
economic problems. Graduation from LDC status represents an important milestone
in their development path. This research tries to deepen on the relationship between
the fulfillment of the “graduation criteria” established by the United Nations and
the evolution of the foreign trade indices of a group of Asian LDCs about to graduate
(Bangladesh, Bhutan, Laos, Timor-Leste, Nepal, and Myanmar), checking how
trade, one of its engines for economic development, has involved during the last
years and, specifically, on their way to graduation. First, the characteristics of the
LDCs and the criteria to exclude them from the list are analyzed. Second, a set of
indices are presented to find out the trade flows throughout the period observed.
Finally, conclusions and future lines of research are proposed. The results show that
all the countries studied have succeeded in expanding their share in world trade.
The high participation of Bangladesh is justified by the size of its economy and its
weight within the textile trade. Regarding diversification, all of countries present a
highly concentrated pattern of exports and their exchanges are carried out with few
countries. This lack of trade diversification places them in a vulnerable position.
The relative trade balance index indicates that all of them are competitive with their
trading partners in the products analyzed and the six have comparative advantage.
To conclude, the analysis confirms that the trade structure of the LDCs considered
has improved, but with differences due to their characteristics.