Yüksek Teknolojili Ürün İhracatında Ar-Ge Harcamalarının Rolü: OECD Ülkeleri İçin Panel Nedensellik Analizi
Sema Yaşar, Dilan DayananYüksek teknolojili ürün ihracatı sağlamış olduğu yüksek katma değer dolayısıyla son yıllarda uluslararası ticaretin en önemli unsurlarından biri haline gelmiştir. Küreselleşen ekonomide önemi artan ve rekabet gücü açısından da etkili olan yüksek teknolojili ürün ihracatı için araştırma geliştirme harcamalarının etkisi yadsınamaz. Bu çalışmada, seçilen 22 OECD ülkesi için 1996-2021 dönemini içeren panel veri seti kullanılarak yüksek teknoloji ihracatı (HTECH), araştırma ve geliştirme harcamaları (RD), ticari açıklık (TRADE) ve gayri safi sabit sermaye yatırımları (GFCF) arasındaki ilişki incelenmektedir. Çalışmada, OECD ülkelerinde yüksek teknolojili ürün ihracatı ile Ar-Ge harcamaları arasındaki nedenselliği test etmek için Juodis, Karavias ve Sarafidis’in (2021) Granger nedensellik testinin Xiao vd. (2023) tarafından geliştirilen yeni versiyonu uygulanmıştır. Yapılan analizler neticesinde yüksek teknolojili ürün ihracatı ile araştırma geliştirme harcamaları arasında çift yönlü nedensellik ilişkisi tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca yüksek teknolojili ürün ihracatı ile modele kontrol değişken olarak eklenen gayri safi sabit sermaye yatırımları ve ticari açıklık ile arasında da çift yönlü nedensellik ilişkisi bulunmuştur. Yapılan analizlerin neticesinde politika yapıcıların araştırma ve geliştirme faaliyetlerine yönelik yatırımları artırmaları, milli gelirden bu faaliyetlere yönelik daha fazla kaynak aktarmaları ve vergi indirimleri, düşük faizli kredi imkanları, nitelikli işgücü temini için eğitim düzenlemeleri, teknolojik gelişmeler için fiziki altyapı temini gibi teşvik edici politikaları uygulamaları gerektiği sonucuna varılmıştır.
The Role of R&D Expenditures on High Technology Product Exports: A Panel Causality Analysis for OECD Countries
Sema Yaşar, Dilan DayananHigh-technology exports have become one of the most important components of international trade in recent years due to their high added value. In the context of the globalising economy, there is no doubt about the impact of research and development spending on high-tech exports, which are also advantageous in terms of competitiveness. This study examines the nexus between high-tech exports (HTECH), research and development expenditures (RD), trade openness (TRADE), and gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) for selected 22 OECD countries within a model using a panel dataset over the period 1996–2021. In this study, the new version of the Granger causality test by Juodis, Karavias and Sarafidis (2021) developed by Xiao et al. (2023) was used to test the causality between high-technology product exports and R&D expenditures in OECD countries. The empirical findings show a bidirectional causal link between high-technology exports and R&D expenditure. Additionally, a bidirectional causality relationship was found between high-tech product exports and the gross fixed capital investments and trade openness added to the model as control variables. As a result of the analysis, it is concluded that policymakers should increase investments in R&D activities, allocate more resources from the national income to these activities, and implement incentive policies such as tax reductions, low-interest loan opportunities, educational arrangements for the supply of qualified labour, and the provision of physical infrastructure for technological developments.
Technological innovations, which are among the most important factors that form the basis of competition between countries, can affect the level of competition in foreign trade and lead to an increase in welfare. As a result, high-technology exports are critical for establishing competitiveness in foreign trade. Especially when the added value it provides is taken into consideration, high-technology exports take its place among the priorities of countries. The main factor that is indispensable for technological innovations is research and development activities. The answer to the question of how investments made in R&D activities affect high-technology product exports is important. For this reason, the aim of the study is to determine the role of R&D expenditures in high-technology exports, to determine whether there is a causal relationship between them, and if so, to determine the direction of this relationship. Determining the causal relationship and the direction of this relationship is extremely important in the economic policies to be implemented.
The study used econometric analysis to investigate the link between high-technology exports and R&D spending. This study explores the relationship between high-tech exports (HTECH), research and development expenditures (RD), trade openness (TRADE), and gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) in a panel dataset of 22 OECD countries from 1996 to 2021. Following the cross-section dependency test and unit root test, a homogeneity test was used to evaluate whether the slope coefficients were homogenous or heterogeneous. Then, the panel causality analysis technique is used to analyse the causation between high-tech exports and R&D spending.
According to the Cross-Section Dependency test results, it was determined that there was a cross-sectional dependency between the series in the panel. Therefore, a second generation test, the Cross-Sectional Augmented Dickey-Fuller (CADF) unit root test, which takes into account the existence of cross-sectional dependency in the analysis, was applied. According to the unit root test result, all variables show non-stationary properties at the level but become stationary at the first difference. Determining whether the slope coefficients are homogenous or heterogeneous is critical in deciding which panel unit root and panel causality analysis methods to use. According to the results of the homogeneity test of the model, it was concluded that the slope coefficients are not homogeneous but heterogeneous. In other words, according to the results obtained, the slope parameters vary between the horizontal sections. Finally, according to the new version of the Granger causality test by Juodis, Karavias, and Sarafidis (2021) developed by Xiao et al. (2023), which was conducted to determine the causality relationship between high-technology exports and R&D expenditures, a bidirectional causality relationship was found between high-technology exports (HTECH) and R&D expenditures (RD). A bidirectional causality relationship was found between high-tech product exports and the gross fixed capital investments (GFCF) and trade openness (TRADE) added to the model as control variables.
According to the results of this study, in which the effect of R&D expenditures on high-technology exports is examined and the causality relationship between them is determined, policy makers need to increase investments in R&D expenditures in order for countries to gain competitive advantage in foreign trade, maintain their advantages and increase their welfare levels. For this purpose, more resources should be allocated from the national income to R&D expenditures. In addition, incentive policies can be implemented by providing tax deductions for R&D investments and offering low-interest credit opportunities, as well as making educational arrangements to provide the qualified workforce required for R&D activities, physical infrastructure investments to provide the necessary technological infrastructure, and increasing the share of the private sector in R&D activities by ensuring public and private sector cooperation are also extremely important.
