Developing countries and their airborne export flows of perishable and high-tech goods

The sustained growth of air cargo has been driven by the internationalization of production activities, changes in consumption patterns, and heightened economic activity in several regions around the world including some relatively low-income countries. From a research perspective, the economic impacts of air freight transportation and associated supply chains have received only marginal emphasis in academic research. This dissertation addresses the gaps in the academic literature by presenting a comprehensive approach for assessing the importance of air freight charges on economic activity in developing countries. The author uses descriptive statistics to illustrate the importance of trade that travels by air from these regions to the United States and the European Union. Costs of air freight, distinguishing perishables and exotics (P&E) from high-tech products, are calculated. A gravity model of trade is estimated to measure the effect of transportation costs on airborne export flows. The complexity of international supply chains is illustrated using Ecuador's fresh flower industry as a case study. Wherever possible, interpretative analysis of the public policies surrounding the trade of airborne goods complements the quantitative assessments. The analysis concludes that policy and regulatory barriers to liberalized trade persist in developing countries; however, research findings also suggest that the governments of developing countries can cost-effectively remove bottlenecks and improve the efficiency of their transportation and logistics networks.