International Economics Studies
Volume:50 Issue: 1, Winter and Spring 2020

In 2010, the World Bank categorized countries by GDP (at Purchasing Power Parity) per capita (at constant 1990 prices) in three categories: low, middle (low and high), and high. If a country falls in a trap at least 28 years in the low middle income and at least 14 years in the high middle income group, then it is included in low and middle income groups, respectively .In this paper, using the experience of successful countries in avoiding the trap, we investigated the impact of investment, human capital, high-tech exports, total factor productivity, exports of goods and services, and the value added of service sectors on per capita GDP growth during 1991-2014, using panel data. Research findings in the literature indicated that in selected Asian countries, human capital and total factor productivity growth with positive and significant effects have the greatest impact on avoiding the trap. In the case of Iran, human capital and the total factor productivity growth have positive and significant effects on the economic growth, but such effects have not been so great to help escaping Iran’s economy from the middle- income trap. Therefore, Iran has remained in the middle- income trap over the past 58 years. JEL Classification: J24, D24, E22, C33.

Numerous models are proposed to model international trade and promote it. Vanek, instead of designing a trade pattern based on the production, introduced a pattern based on the factor content of trade. In the present study, apart from the Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek (HOV) theorem, we attempt to determine the factor content of Iran's trade without factor price equalization by using internal input-output tables. Net trading is positive only for 7 sectors of Iran's economy, including oil and gas. It is negative for 91 percent of sectors that accounts for 78 percent of the economy. Moreover, Iran's factor content of trade is positive for 50 percent of industries, negative for 48%, and it is zero for two ones. In general, the factor content of trade for raw and mineral materials, services, electricity, gas and water infrastructure sectors are positive. In contrast, the factor content of trade is negative for activities like manufacturing of machinery and equipment and in general for sections that require intermediate investment and high-tech goods. Sign and rank tests are employed to assess the validity of HOV theorem. The sign test was found to be satisfied for 67% of cases. Rank test showed satisfaction in about 47% of the cases. JEL Classification: Y10: P45: O53: F14

Spillovers have attracted wide attention in the areas of research in economics during the past decades. The reason for the interest in the topic lies in their important role in endogenous growth theory and the explanation of productivity growth. This paper investigates the spatial spillover of different types of public infrastructure on economic growth across EU-28 NUTS-II regions during 1995-2015. Particularly, we developed the previous studies by consedeing spillover in all types of the GDP sector composition including agriculture, industry, and services. The spatial Durbin panel data model is employed to consider spatial spillovers of both public infrastructure and economic growth. Empirical results show the positive spatial spillovers of communication infrastructure in all the sectors. The spillover effect of transport infrastructure is positive in the service and agricultural sector, whereas it is negative in the industry sector. Moreover, the spillover effect of local infrastructure is insignificant in all three sectors. Finally, we find significant evidence of positive geographical spillovers of economic growth implying spatially-growth dependency of regions to growth rate of neighboring regions. JEL Classification: H54, O47, C21

Foreign trade expansion plays an important role in economic growth and development. Since Iran’s single-product economy is facing tight sanctions, among trading partners, Turkey benefits from special place, and political independence in international relations because of its large population, rising per capita income, high economic growth rate, geographical and cultural proximity to Iran. Many opportunities and substantial capacities have been established for expanding foreign trade between these two countries. To do this, it is necessary to determine the maximum export capacity of Iran to Turkey and whether this capacity has actually been deployed and realized or not. The next question is what the bases of Iran’s export development to Turkey are, and the goods which should be focused on to develop trading. Therefore, the aim of this study was to estimate the maximum export capacity of Iran to Turkey and to determine the commodities with the highest export capacity. The Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index, the Cosine Index, and the General Model of the gravity model were used to evaluate Iran’s export potential and to determine commodities in which Iran has export advantage. Iran’s export potential to Turkey was investigated in various years and in different commodity groups by comparing the rate of export volume of each commodity to total volume of its import by Turkey. Research findings indicated that the highest Iranian export potential value to Turkey was $9,339 million, and just 7.2% of that ($669 million) has been realized. Also, 11 commodity groups formed more than 66% of Iranian potential exports to Turkey. Among them, ‘mineral products’ with $2,730 million, ‘plastics and natural rubber and artifacts made from them’ with 1,185 million, ‘common metals and artifacts made from them’ with $918 million, and ‘products of the chemical industry and its related industries’ with $879 million were respectively the four commodity groups with the highest export potential. JEL Classification: F14]

Crude oil is the most traded commodity in the world and its market has great influences on the global economy and macroeconomic activities. The present study seeks to analyze Iran's policy for oil production and export within the framework of an intra-OPEC bargaining game.  This analysis helps to review Iran’s oil policy and to propose an appropriate strategy in the new circumstances. The analysis of strategic relations shows that OPEC members can be divided into two groups of saver and spender countries. This categorization is due to economic, demographic, and petroleum differences among OPEC countries. OPEC members are different in terms of discount rates, impatience, and the urgent need for oil revenues too. The authors of this study have tried to model the relationship between oil quotas/production and demographic, economic, and oil variables based on the Intra-OPEC bargaining game. The model estimated for the period 2001-2019. The results indicated a strong and significant relationship between the ratio of oil production to oil reserves and demographic, economic, and oil variables. Bargaining between the two groups can largely determine the behaviors of OPEC and its members. The model estimation suggested that the oil market faces a tendency towards faster production and export in response to the shift in world oil market outlook. The results suggest that Iran's oil production capacity, the market share of Iran and recovery rates should be upgraded. Finally, the current role of Iran in OPEC does not fit into its economic needs and should be reviewed based on the above results. The study indicated that the inherent heterogeneity in OPEC still helps Iran plan to achieve its historic quota and position in OPEC.
JEL Classification: C07, D74, L13, L16.

Trade liberalization has induced volatility in the prices of oilseeds. Oilseeds such as rapeseed and mustard, which are rich in vitamins, minerals, and the staple ingredients in many food items. This paper analyzed the international and domestic prices of rapeseed and mustard for India. The analysis showed that India was a net exporter of rapeseed and mustard oilseeds and has experienced lower price volatility for these crops. On the other hand, in terms of processed rapeseed and mustard oil, India has been a net importer. As such it is unable to influence the prices of these products and has greater price volatility in the domestic market. The present study examined these issues in-depth in post-trade liberalization and India’s accession into the World Trade Organization and commitments under the Agreement in Agriculture. The statistical technique used for analysis was the run test and the nominal protection coefficients. Therefore, the present study was carried out to analyze the fluctuations in international and domestic prices of rapeseed and mustard crops after trade liberalization and its impact on the competitiveness of a crop.