Original Research

An augmented gravity model of South Africa’s exports of motor vehicles, parts and accessories

Moses Sichei, Jean-Luc Erero, Tewodros Gebreselasie
South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences | Vol 11, No 4 | a284 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v11i4.284 | © 2011 Moses Sichei, Jean-Luc Erero, Tewodros Gebreselasie | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 24 August 2011 | Published: 24 August 2011

About the author(s)

Moses Sichei, Central Bank of Kenya
Jean-Luc Erero, Department of Trade and Industry, South Africa
Tewodros Gebreselasie, Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa

Full Text:

PDF (922KB)

Abstract

The study applies an “augmented” gravity model to South Africa’s exports of motor vehicles, parts and accessories to 71 countries over the period 1994 to 2004.  A static panel data model is specified and estimated.  Several conclusions are drawn from the study.  First, a number of variables, namely, importer income, distance, level of import tariffs, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, use of right-hand drive vehicles are important determinants of bilateral trade flows for motor vehicles, parts and accessories.  Second, solving the gravity model deterministically, we show that export potential exists in a number of countries like Malawi, Zambia, Kenya and Malaysia.  A number of barriers hinder the members of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) from exploiting these export markets. These include very high import tariffs, lack of South Africa’s diplomatic mission in the trading partner and the uncertainty regarding what happens at the expiry of the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP) in 2012. Finally, the export potential identified by the gravity model should be regarded only as an indication since it is sensitive to the model specification and sample of countries.

Keywords

No related keywords in the metadata.

Metrics

Total abstract views: 3421
Total article views: 3737

 

Crossref Citations

1. The state of international management research in South African management journals
Adolf J. Vögel
Acta Commercii  vol: 15  issue: 1  year: 2015  
doi: 10.4102/ac.v15i1.262