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A View through the Trade Window: North K orean Exports as an Indicator of Economic Capabilities
Author(s) -
Jing Ran,
Lovely Mary E.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the world economy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.594
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1467-9701
pISSN - 0378-5920
DOI - 10.1111/twec.12254
Subject(s) - indigenous , international trade , economics , state (computer science) , international economics , business , biology , computer science , ecology , algorithm
This study uses detailed information on D emocratic P eople's R epublic of K orea exports to assess the state of its indigenous industrial (civilian‐use) capability. The view through the trade window is sobering. We find that most N orth K orean exports reflect the capabilities of foreign investors and do not reflect the factor abundance of N orth K orea other than its mineral endowments. While some capability emerged in aquaculture and export processing, there is little evidence of indigenous manufacturing activity that meets international standards. Moreover, most trade is facilitated either at the border or through foreign companies or special cooperative programmes. This lack of domestic trading experience indicates a low capability for finding and serving foreign markets.