Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/153876 
Year of Publication: 
2012
Series/Report no.: 
ECB Working Paper No. 1443
Publisher: 
European Central Bank (ECB), Frankfurt a. M.
Abstract: 
We analyze the decline in the U.S. share of world merchandise exports against the backdrop of a model-based measure of competitiveness. We preliminarily use constant market share analysis and gravity estimations to show that the majority of the decline in export shares can be associated with a declining share of world income, suggesting that the dismal performance of the U.S. market share is not a sufficient statistic for competitiveness. We then derive a computable measure of country-sector specific real marginal costs (i.e. competitiveness) which, insofar it is inferred from actual trade ows, is referred to as 'revealed'. Brought to the data, this measure reveals that most U.S. manufacturing industries are losing momentum relative to their main competitors, as we find U.S. revealed marginal costs to grow by more than 38% on average. At the sectoral level, the "Machinery" industry is the most critical.
Subjects: 
competitiveness
export shares
Firm heterogeneity
firm selection
Gravity Equation
marginal costs
productivity
Trade Costs
JEL: 
F12
F17
F19
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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