Abstract:
Economics of Government Export Promotion
The main thrust of this thesis is concerned with
finding a new
quantitative method for establishing the value or utility of
government export promotion. It is set against a general examination
of the role and economics of such activities.
This is the first academic study in an area which is of increasing
interest
to governments of both developed and developing economies
because there is no satisfactory quantitative measure. To date,
such investment has therefore been in the nature of a blind and
open-ended commitment.
Specific literature On the subject is sparse. Examination of a wideranging
literature was therefore necessary. This included: the
"conceptual and historical framework; previous qualitative research;
societal or public expenditure accounting; international trade and
international trade theory; exporters' marketing needs; and, the
major disciplines found in government export promotion. The result
was the identification of four avenues of evaluation and.also criteria
for the possible development of a new measuring technique.
Field research was directed to three main areas: (i) the export
promotion organisations of eleven overseas governments; (ii)
in-depth research into the United Kingdom's export promotion
machine; and, (iii) UK exporting firms using the official export
services This revealed the evaluation methods employed by
government export promotion organisations in some of the major
industrialised economies. Further, it enabled a new methodology
to be evolved and pilot-tested.
A
newlevaluative technique is proposed. Relative to other existing
techniques, it should permit a quick,.inexpensive and substantially
more realistic estimate of the utility of government export
promotion services to be made. The approach is based on exporters'
turnover and
cost-savings effects.
