Density and Structural Change in Foreign Trade with The Middle East Border Countries

• Main Author: Mustafa Akal
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Gaziantep University 2008-12-01
• Series: Gaziantep University Journal of Social Sciences
• Subjects: Dış ticarette fasıl yoğunlaşması; yapısal değişim; Türkiye; Irak; Iran; Suriye; Foreign trade density; structural change; Turkey; Syria
• Online Access: http://dergipark.gov.tr/jss/issue/24248/257118?publisher=gantep

This study aims to outline export and import densities, advantageous and disadvantageous and comparative changes in product groups of traded goods of Turkey with the Middle East border countries in regard to the changes in production and economic structures of the countries from 1980 to 2005. The export density of Turkey changed from agricultural goods groups toward industrial good groups, from labor intensive good groups toward technology embodied capital intensive goods groups between 1980 and 2005. Turkey has had advantages in industrial goods, increased agricultural import and become more dependable in reducing energy gap in foreign trade with those countries since 1980, as a result of Turkey’s economic reforms and industrialization starting earlier than those border countries. However, there has been existing intra-industry trade in few industries including petroleum industry recently, It is concluded that the structural change in the types of traded goods groups densities is the result of the changes in the economic structures those countries