Intra-industry trade in ICT services in BRIC Countries (2005-2017)

Abstract

Information and communication technology (ICT) services, a key contributor to the growth and development of the counties, has also been an important item of international trade (both import and export) of emerging economies, particularly the BRIC counties. This paper examines the trends and patterns of exports, imports and intra-industry trade (IIT) in the ICT services in BRIC countries for the period 2005-2017, which has been an area unexplored in the international trade literature. Our analysis, based on the UNCTAD data, revealed that India has been the major contributor of the ICT services exports from the BRIC countries throughout the study period, which was distantly followed by China, while the share of Brazil and Russia has been relatively negligible. However, the growth in the ICT service exports during the study period was highest in China and it was lowest in India. At the same time, China was not only the leading importer of the ICT services among the BRIC counties throughout 2005 – 2017, but the growth rate in the ICT service exports of this country was highest among the BRIC countries. The computed IIT index values indicated the prevalence of intra-industry trade in ICT services, albeit with different intensity, in all the four BRIC countries. Among the BRIC countries, the degree of IIT in the ICT services was highest in Russia followed by China and lowest in India during our study period. The diversity in the nature and quality of the emerging ICT services originated from different countries will lead to further growth of intra-industry trade in the ICT services in BRIC counties and other countries in the future.