THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EXPORT STRUCTURE AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS FOR SELECTED G-20 COUNTRIES

In this study, the relationship between export structure and economic growth in the last 11 countries (in terms of foreign trade volume) of G-20 was studied using a non-parametric approach. The study analyzes the relationship between skill-and-technology intensive manufacturing industry exportation and economic growth based on variables such as human capital and institutional quality. In demonstrating the difference between the growth rates of the countries in question (and in examining the role of skill-and-technology-intensive export), the Li-Racine (2004) Generalized Kernel Estimation Method has been used. The for-eign trade goods categorized according to their technological intensity in the paper were classified in ac-cordance with the United Nations Comtrade Harmonized System (4-digit). The last 11 countries of the G-20 in terms of foreign trade volume are the following: Turkey, Italy, India, Mexico, Indonesia, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Southern Korea, and Russia. The analysis covers the time period of 1995-2010. The results of non-parametric analysis methods reveal, just as parametric analysis results do, that there exists a positive and meaningful relationship between economic growth and the export of skill-and-technology-intensive goods for most countries.