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Trend and volatility in the net barter terms of trade, 1900–92: new results from the application of a (not so) new method
Author(s) -
Sapsford David,
Balasubramanyam V. N.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of international development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.533
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1099-1328
pISSN - 0954-1748
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1328(199909/10)11:6<851::aid-jid631>3.0.co;2-7
Subject(s) - barter , volatility (finance) , economics , revenue , terms of trade , econometrics , international economics , monetary economics , macroeconomics , finance
This paper argues that the trend and volatility in the terms of trade need to be treated not as separate phenomena but rather as ‘twin‐pillars’ of the same underlying problem faced by LDCs; namely their heavy dependence on primary commodities (or more recently upon components and parts of manufactured goods) as a source of export revenue. The paper reports estimates relating to the magnitude of both the trend and volatility that occurred in the barter terms of trade since 1900. In particular, the authors report evidence to suggest that after 1972 there occurred a major increase in the trend rate deterioration of the net barter terms of trade and that this worsening trend was accompanied by a marked increase in volatility. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.