INTRA-INDUSTRY TRADE BETWEEN BRAZIL AND OECD COUNTRIES: DECOMPOSITION AND DETERMINANTS ANALYSIS

Abstract

The main goal of this paper is to analyze the intra-industry trade between Brazil and OECD countries for the period 2000 – 2009. Specifically, it is intended to decompose the intra-industry bilateral trade (CII) and find its determinants. The main results showed that the USA and Mexico have the largest volume and index of CII with Brazil, respectively. Additionally, it was found that the vertical intra-industry trade (CIIV) is larger than the horizontal intra-industry trade (CIIH), where the Brazilian exports are mainly based on lower quality goods than imports. The econometric approach to investigate the main determinants of the CIIV was based on the theoretical model from Falvey and Kierzkowski (1987), through panel data econometrics. According to the results from the Random Effects estimations, with a 10 % statistical significance, the coefficient for endowments differences (in terms of capital/labor ratio) has a positive effect on vertical intra-industry bilateral trade, which corroborates the main hypothesis of the Falvey and Kierzkowski (1987) model.