Determinants of Export Sophistication for Kazakhstan: A Destination-Based Approach

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze the determinants of export sophistication for Kazakhstan based
on variables of the countries that are destinations for exports of Kazakhstan. Based on common practice
in related literature we have chosen parameters like distance, GDP, income per capita, population, GDP
growth, urbanization, trade openness, free trade agreement, fuel exports and high technology exports as
independent variables. The estimated coefficients for distance and percentage share of high technology
exports appear to be negative whereas the relationship between export sophistication and trade openness is
positive. The rest of the explanatory variables happen to be statistically insignificant at α=0.10.