The demand for LDC exports of primary commodities: The case of the Philippines

Abstract

The economic case for taxing exports rests on the elasticity of demand for the exports concerned, but the true values of these elasticities are controversial. The international demand for Philippine exports of coconut products is examined in this paper. The hypothesis that the Philippines is a 'small country' exporter of coconut products is rejected using the specification of a pricenormalised demand equation and the implications of this finding are discussed.