Consumer Product Export Opportunities to Liberalizing LDCs: A Life-Cycle Approach

This paper reviews popular and academic literature in order to describe several relationships which appear to exist between liberalization in LDCs and imports of consumer goods. Based on this review, the parameters of a life-cycle model are developed for consumer product exports to liberalizing LDCs. such exports are hypothesized to: (1) be minimal prior to liberalization, and (2) rise rapidly in the early stages of liberalization, and (3) decline, sometimes precipitously, several years later. These hypotheses are tested using consumer import data from three unique LDCs: Chile, Egypt and China. Finally, the implications of the model for LDC governments, exporters and foreign investors are explored.© 1989 JIBS. Journal of International Business Studies (1989) 20, 93–112