Testing Heckscher-Ohlin Theorem Using Chinese Industrial Factor Intensity Data : Further Evidence from EU Import Markets

Following the approach proposed earlier, the authors extended the empirical tests of Heckscher-Ohlin Theorem to the European Union (EU) import markets. Utilizing extra-trade data provided by Eurostat on imports between 1995 and 2008 for EU15, those between 1999 and 2008 for EU27, and Chinese industry data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBSC) for a sample of 32 Chinese industry groups, the findings provided further empirical evidences that industrial factor intensity was a significant factor explaining the export capability of the Chinese industries. In addition, results obtained from the EU import markets are compared with those from the US during the corresponding periods, and the initial evaluation seems to suggest that the EU import markets might subject to more distortions either due to artificial trade restrictions or to other peculiar characteristics