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Food standards and exports: evidence for China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2012

AXEL MANGELSDORF ,
ALBERTO PORTUGAL-PEREZ  and
JOHN S. WILSON
AXEL MANGELSDORF
Affiliation:
BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Germany, and Technical University Berlin, Chair of Innovation Economics
ALBERTO PORTUGAL-PEREZ
Affiliation:
World Bank
JOHN S. WILSON
Affiliation:
World Bank
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Abstract

Using a new database on standards in China, we estimate the impact of voluntary and mandatory standards – either harmonized to international norms or purely domestic – on Chinese food exports. The dataset covers seven Chinese products over the period 1992–2008. We find that standards have a positive effect on China's export performance, as the benefits to standardization in terms of reducing potential information asymmetry and signaling enhance food safety, and quality in foreign markets seem to surpass compliance costs. Our estimation results show that the positive effect of Chinese standards is larger when they are harmonized to international measures. The results suggest that there are clear benefits to China's steps to base their domestic standards and regulations on international measures.

Type
Review Article
Information
World Trade Review , Volume 11 , Issue 3: Symposium Issue: Standards and Non-Tariff Barriers in Trade , July 2012 , pp. 507 - 526
Copyright
Copyright © Axel Mangelsdorf, Alberto Portugal-Perez and John S. Wilson 2012

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