한국 반도체 산업의 교역패턴에 관한 연구

Study on International Trade Volume of the Korean Semiconductor Industry : Focusing on Distribution Efficiency

Semiconductor industry has played an important role in the Korean economy since the 1990 s spurt of rapid economic growth. Geographical distance between trading countries is one of the most important factors influencing on the semiconductor industry. Gravity model explains trade flow between two trading countries using this factor of geographical distance and their economic scale. Korea would be a favorable place for trading of both intermediate and full semiconductor products considering the proximity of its geographical location to countries such as China which is called the world s production plant, Japan which boasts of its high-technology former processes, and Taiwan which holds a dominant position on latter semiconductor processes through enormous investment on facilities. This study aimed to examine comparative advantage on exports of the nation s semiconductor trading partners by using the TSI(Trade Specification Index) and to estimate international trade volume in the semiconductor industry by analyzing trade patterns using the gravity model. Results confirmed the hypothesis which stated that semiconductor products involving intermediate manufacturing processes have a valid influence on the whole export volume. Therefore, if there would be political reconsideration of semiconductor products, trade facilities which enable manufacturing and re-exportation of semiconductor products, trade volume within this region will increase hand in hand with labor productivity growth.