ASSESSING MALAYSIA'S MANUFACTURED EXPORTS COMPETITIVENESS IN THE EAST ASIAN REGION: A SHIFT-SHARE AND SIMULATION APPROACH
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Date
2010-01
Authors
LEOW, GHIN YIN
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Abstract
For most East Asian countries, international trade represents a significant portion of
their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Albeit on a different scope and scale, the
importance of international trade is rising over the years. Today, trading nations
including Malaysia are facing a highly uncertain and demanding external
environment with growing competitive pressures. The objective of this thesis is to
study Malaysia's manufactured exports competitiveness from 1980-2006 in the East
Asian region. Specifically, this thesis attempts to: (a) assess Malaysia's
manufactured exports competitiveness vis-a-vis eight of her neighboring countries;
(b) provide a macro econometric model of manufactured exports' competitiveness
and (c) perform simulations on the model to determine the effects of the Ringgit
peg, higher interest rate, foreign direct investment (FDI), financial support from the
government and changes in the terms of trade. Using a dynamic shift-share analysis,
we found that Malaysia's electronics exports are generally more competitive than
her chemical exports. Malaysia's electronics exports are more competitive in the US
market, but started to decline towards the end of the 1990s. As for the
competitiveness model, we found satisfactory results for the model. Using two stage
least square (2SLS), the empirical results suggest that the openness of Malaysia's
economy, exchange rate and inflation affected Malaysia's manufactured exports
competitive position. The dependency of Malaysia's exports on FOI is not that high
compared to the other East Asian nations. Interest rates have a limited effect on
private investment, but significantly affected export and import variables.
Simulation results have showed that Ringgit exchange rate peg overstayed a 7-year
time span. If the peg has been lifted earlier, the economy would have undergone
through an easier macroeconomic adjustment. The presence of FDI is favorable to
Malaysia's economy, particularly manufactured exports. Nonetheless, Malaysia's
competitiveness is still relatively lower than her competitors. Financial support from
the government also plays a role in Malaysia's economic development, but not as
much as the FDI. The terms of trade simulation shows that Malaysia's
manufactured exports are more sensitive towards import price variations than export
price variations. This suggests a high dependence on imported items for the
manufactured exports.
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Keywords
ASSESSING MALAYSIA'S , COMPETITIVENESS