ABSTRACT

Optimizing the business environment is a new competitive edge to global economies in international competition and cooperation. Export variety is an important basis for the implementation of a country’s foreign trade diversification strategy. However, the impact of the business environment on export diversity remains unclear. Using World Bank Doing Business data and detailed product data of 145 countries from 2010 to 2018, we investigate the effects of the business environment on the export variety of home countries. We separate regulatory variables based on different stages of a firm’s life cycle and examine which regulatory factors of doing business influence export variety. The results show that business environment improvement promotes export variety through an increase in foreign direct investment (FDI). The improvement of the business environment promotes the export variety mainly in non-high-income countries but not in high-income countries. Dealing with construction permit negatively affect export variety, while trading across borders and resolving insolvency improve export variety.

摘要

优化营商环境是全球经济在国际竞争与合作中的新竞争优势。出口品种是一个国家实施外贸多元化战略的重要依据。然而，商业环境对出口多样性的影响仍不清楚。利用世界银行营商环境数据和 2010 年至 2018 年 145 个国家的详细产品数据，我们调查了营商环境对母国出口品种的影响。我们根据公司生命周期的不同阶段分离监管变量，并研究哪些经营活动的监管因素会影响出口品种。结果表明，商业环境的改善通过增加外国直接投资（FDI）来促进出口品种。营商环境的改善主要促进了非高收入国家的出口品种，而不是高收入国家。处理施工许可证对出口品种产生负面影响，而跨境贸易和解决破产问题则改善了出口品种。