TY  - JOUR
AU  - Koopman,Robert
AU  - Wang,Zhi
AU  - Wei,Shang-Jin
TI  - Tracing Value-added and Double Counting in Gross Exports
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 18579
PY  - 2012
Y2  - November 2012
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w18579
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w18579.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Robert Koopman
Research Division
Office of Economics
US International Trade Commission
500 E Street SW
Washington, DC 20436
E-Mail: Robert.Koopman@usitc.gov

Zhi Wang
Research Division
Office of Economics
US International Trade Commission
500 E Street SW
Washington, DC 20436
E-Mail: zhi.wang@usitc.gov

Shang-Jin Wei
Graduate School of Business
Columbia University
Uris Hall 619
3022 Broadway
New York, NY 10027-6902
Tel: 212/854-9139
E-Mail: shangjin.wei@columbia.edu
AB  - This paper proposes a framework for gross exports accounting that breaks up a country’s gross exports into various value-added components by source and additional double counted terms. By identifying which parts of the official trade data are double counted and the sources of the double counting, it bridges official trade (in gross value terms) and national accounts statistics (in value added terms). Our parsimonious framework integrates all previous measures of vertical specialization and value-added trade in the literature into a unified framework. To illustrate the potential of such a method, we present a number of applications including re-computing revealed comparative advantages and the magnifying impact of multi-stage production on trade costs.
ER  -