Export response to sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade : firm-level evidence from a developing country

This study empirically examines a connection between non-tariff measures (NTMs) and trade response at a micro level. It investigates the mechanism, drivers and speed of adjustment to a battery of sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade. It uses an administrative dataset of Pakistan's mango-exporting firms at an eight-digit level of disaggregation and exploits a natural experiment in the identification strategy. The research finds the NTMs appear to have increased the volume of exports but through one specific channel and after some time lag. The intensive margins (IM) of trade have improved whereas the extensive margins (EM) have contracted. The increase in IM is, however, registered after a gap of four years and appears to be driven by larger quantities as well as higher prices. The contraction in the EM seems to operate mainly through a reduction in the number of customers in export markets.