The Role of Technology as a Trade Facilitator in Upgrading Export Performance of ASEAN Countries in 2008–2014

Abstract

The trade borders of countries have been significantly obscured by globalization. As one of the efforts to integrate, ASEAN was formed to foster the sustainability economy of each member. However, trade facilities consisting of hard and soft facilities play a major role. Therefore, this study analyzes the effect of trade facilities on export performance deriving from new indicators for ASEAN countries in 2008–2014. The method used in this research is fixed-effect method with such indicators of trade facilities as technological readiness, border and transport efficiency, as well as business environment. The results imply that trade facilities which affect export performance with technological readiness give the most significant influence, followed by business environment and border and transport efficiency. Overall, trade facilities have an important role in intensifying the quality and quantity of a country’s exports, especially that of developing countries, as it determines trade costs that also affect the effectiveness and efficiency of trade.