Determinants of export performance: A panel data analysis

Export performance is an important indicator that reflects a country's ability to successfully sell its goods and services in international markets. A country's export performance can affect factors such as economic growth, job employment and trade balance. Successful export performance can foster productivity growth and improve the ability of local businesses to compete internationally. Good export performance can support economic diversification, often reflecting the country's competitiveness and industrial diversity. Therefore, countries often develop trade policies and export incentives to stimulate growth in foreign markets. The aim of this study is to test the relationships between export performance, one of the important factors in a country's foreign trade, and selected macroeconomic variables using panel data analysis. The study was carried out with data on the foreign trade segment of 15 selected leading countries in foreign trade among the developed countries and developing countries in the world economic regions for the period 2000-2022. In the research, the relationship between export performance and gross domestic product (GDP), exchange rate and R&D expenditures was examined. In previous studies, when the relationship between export performance and GDP, exchange rate and R&D expenditures is examined sectorally or individually for a single country, it has been seen that these variables positively affect export performance. As a result of the research, a positive relationship was detected between export performance and gross domestic product (GDP) and exchange rate, while no significant relationship was found between export performance and R&D expenditures.