Delaware Ranks #3 in Study examining U.S. Export Adaptability at the State Level
This Ball State University study aims to examine the ability of the 50 U.S. states’ exporters to adapt to the changing demand from OECD countries during the period of 1999 – 2009 (“demand-adaptability index”). The data used to create the index comes from the International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.
Below is the opening paragraph from the executive summary:
The structure of demand for goods and services is rapidly changing in world markets. This feature of international trade raises the issue of the need for firms in exporting countries to become more flexible in adapting their exports to the ever-changing pattern of international demand. This study examines the adaptability of the 50 U.S. states’ exports to the changing demand from OECD countries during the period of 1999 – 2009. The approach used for the study is the “demand-adaptability index.” The index is constructed using the ratio of a state’s market share in demand-dynamic sectors to that of its market share in nondemand-dynamic sectors.
The study finds that:
• The OECD market import share of primary commodity,
wood (including paper), textile, and footwear/headgear
products has continually declined. In contrast, the demand
for chemical, machinery, and electrical equipment products
has grown over the years.
• Compared with other developed countries, the U.S. trails
behind in terms of ratio of international trade over its GDP.
• The top five states with the highest index in 2009 are Nevada,
West Virginia, Delaware, Utah, and Indiana. These states
export substantial amounts of demand-dynamic products,
such as machinery, pharmaceutical, chemical, electrical, and
medical products (except West Virginia).
• There are twelve states which had an index less than 1.0
in 2009, meaning these states were less able to adapt their
exports to the changing structure of OECD imports during
the study period.
• In comparison, the demand-adaptability index for the U.S. as
a whole was at 1.06 in 1999, 0.98 in 2004, and 0.85 in 2009,
suggesting the U.S. has experienced a decline in its export
adaptability in the past decade.
You can read the full report here:
U.S. Export Adaptability at the State Level (PDF)
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