This paper analyses the impact of cost competitiveness and technology on export performance using a very rich panel datset of 12 manufacturing industries in 14 OECD countries for the period between 1970 and 1992.

How can we best explain the behavior of exports into Britain and Germany from 1975 to 1995? Our study uses a highly disaggregated data det to find some evidence of hysteresis in trade flows (rather stronger for German imports than for British) and the role of technology proxies, particularly...