Title
Intra-industry trade in Latin America and the caribbean
Publication Date
1-1-2011
Publication Name
International Trade Journal
Volume
25
Issue
1
First Page
74
Last Page
111
Source Full Text URL
https://doi.org/10.1080/08853908.2011.532044
Document Type
Article
DOI
10.1080/08853908.2011.532044
Abstract
An increasingly important component of total world trade is intra-industry trade (IIT). The large volume of literature on IIT is reflective of this importance. However, this extensive literature has focused almost completely on explaining the causes of IIT. This focus has left a puzzling gap in the literature. Specifically, it is almost impossible to determine the level of IIT for a particular country or region. Further, there is almost no information on the level of IIT at the industry level either globally or for a region or country. In this article we provide estimates of IIT for the world and for the countries of the Western Hemisphere. Further, we provide estimates of IIT for ten different SITC product categories on the same basis. The findings of the article indicate that in most industries, IIT in Latin America is substantially lower overall than the world average. There are, however, substantial variations observed both by country and by industry. Because the results are the first available for the region as a whole, they should allow researchers to get a better picture of the extent of IIT in Latin America and the Caribbean by country and by industry.