Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/192567 
Year of Publication: 
2009
Series/Report no.: 
Discussion Papers No. 585
Publisher: 
Statistics Norway, Research Department, Oslo
Abstract: 
The analysis of the effect of tariffs for labor productivity faces the challenge of tariff policy endogeneity. Tariff policy is designed to promote economic development and the industrial sector tariff structure may reflect characteristics of the industries protected. We seek to identify the effect of tariffs by taking advantage of multilateral tariff liberalization using reductions in industrial sector tariffs in other world regions as instruments for sectoral tariff reductions in South Africa. The data cover 28 manufacturing sectors over the period 1988-2003. We find that tariff reductions have stimulated labor productivity when instrumented by multilateral tariffs. The OLS estimates show downward bias and supports the understanding that the government has given priority to tariff reductions in sectors with slow productivity growth.
Subjects: 
Trade policy
policy evaluation
barriers to growth
technology adoption
South Africa
labor productivity
JEL: 
F13
F43
O11
O33
O55
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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