Analyzing Relative Importance of Doing business, Economic Freedom, and Competitiveness in increasing the share of High-tech Export: Lessons for Iran

Bahram Sahabi¹ Hassan Heydari² Houra Rezagholi³

1) Associate Professor of Economics at Tarbiat Modares University ,iran
2) Assistant Professor of Economics at Tarbiat Modares University,iran
3) MSC in Economics, Tarbiat Modares University.iran

IOI Code : XCBA-EDEEE
Publication : 3 rd Conference on Industrial Engineering, Economics and Management (iemconf.com/2nd)
Abstract :
    Developing countries try to increase high-tech export share of their exporting goods as a way to increase their share of value added in value chain. High-tech products usually have less dependence on exhaustible resources, create more ability to compete, and have higher market durability. In fact, one aspect of economic transformation to a knowledge based economy is to increase the share of high-tech products of exporting goods. The aim of this paper is to analyzing relative importance of ease of business, promotion of economic freedom, and promotion of competitiveness in increasing high-tech share in exporting goods. To this end, we have taken into consideration a sample of 51 developed and developing countries during 2005-2015. Using unbalanced panel data regressions, we analyzed the effects of business conditions and other factors on high tech industries export shares. Our results show that competitiveness policies in both developed and developing countries had a positive significant impact on export share of high-tech products. On the other hand, increasing economic freedom had negative significant effects on export share of high-tech products but insignificant effects in developing countries. Also, policies increasing ease of doing business had no significant effects in either country groups. Therefore, in order to change the country s export structure of the economy based on non- renewable resources to the knowledge-based economy that results in the increase of the share of high-tech products of the entire production and exports of the country requires more attention by the policy makers to improve competitiveness.

Keywords : high tech products doing business competitiveness economic freedom