Intra-Trade in Arab Manufacturing Industries as a determinant of the technological progress

Abstract

This study attempts to discuss one of the main channels determining the technological progress of Arab countries in the region through concentrating on the role of intra-trade in manufacturing industries during the period of 1995-2014. It is about clarifying the structure of the intra-trade in Arab manufacturing industries, and estimating the total factor productivity as the main common indicator of the technological progress through Solow neoclassical model of growth from the regression of Cobb-Douglas aggregate production function. Then, an empirical analysis of the relationship between total factor productivity and intra-trade in both of high-skilled and low-skilled technology manufactures was implemented. Econometric results using Microfit software 5.0 and the Bounds test approach suggested that the intra-trade in high-skilled technology manufactures is a significant source of technological progress of the Arab region on both the short and long run, while the intra-trade in low-skilled technology manufactures is a significant source of technological progress on the short run only.