Simultaneous Estimation of Income and Price Elasticities of Export Demand, Scale Economies and Total Factor Productivity Growth for Brazil

This paper focuses on a model in which low (high) export demand elasticities and the fact that developing countries are importers of capital goods help explaining the slow (high) growth of these countries. The question arises whether export demand elasticities are low or high. For answering this question, export demand elasticities for the case of Brazil are estimated using a growth model. As a by-product of estimating the model, we obtain estimates for total-factor productivity growth and for scale economies. Based on the results from estimation we calculate steady-state growth rates, engine and handmaiden effects of growth as well as dynamic steady-state gains from trade. The model and the results are discussed in regard to several strands of literature.