High-tech exports from developing countries: A symptom of technology spurts or statistical illusion?

Specialization in high-tech products is frequently used to capture technological intensity of exports. A number of developing countries are among the most deeply specialized countries in exports of these products. The paper shows that the bulk of high-tech exports can actually be attributed to the effect of international fragmentation of production in electronics on trade statistics. It is confirmed in an econometric framework that while indigenous technological capabilities are associated with export performance in electronics, it is the propensity to import electronics components that accounts for by far the largest proportion of cross-country differences in specialization in electronics exports.