TY - BOOK AU - Schiff,Maurice AU - Wang,Yanling TI - North-South Technology Diffusion, Regional Integration, and the Dynamics of the “Natural Trading Partners” Hypothesis PY - 2007///. N1 - 100 N2 - Based on static analysis, a number of studies argue that forming a regional trade agreement (RTA) is more likely to raise welfare if member countries are ‘natural trading partners’, while other studies claim the opposite. This paper considers the argument from a dynamic viewpoint by examining the impact of trade with Japan, North America and the EU on technology diffusion and total factor productivity (TFP) in Jordan, Korea and Mexico. Using industry-level data, we show that (1) technology diffusion and productivity gains tend to be regional: Jordan, Korea, and Mexico tend to benefit mainly from trade with the EU, Japan, and North America respectively; and (2) the dynamic version of the ‘natural trading partners’ hypothesis seems to holdJEL Classification: F02, F13, F15, F43, O39 UR - https://shs.cairn.info/journal-revue-d-economie-du-developpement-2007-1-page-67?lang=en ER -