FACTEURS DE DIVERSIFICATION DES EXPORTATIONS : UNE ANALYSE EMPIRIQUE AU CAS DES PAYS DE L’UEMOA

This article aims to identify the explanatory factors for export diversification in the WAEMU countries over the period 1995-2015. We are regressing the indicator of export diversification, measured successively by the Herfindhal-Hirschman index and the share of manufactured exports in total exports of the country, on a set of explanatory variables. We use the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) method. Our results show that openness to trade, the accumulation of human and physical capital, a competitive real exchange rate and the endowment of natural resources are the main factors explaining the diversification of exports in WAEMU countries