Institutional Quality and Trade in Pacific Island Countries
This research examines the impact of institutional quality on trade in selected Pacific Island Countries (PICs). Four indicators of institutional quality are chosen: government effectiveness, rule of law, regulatory quality and control of corruption; for six PICs: Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. Many of the PICs have been characterised with narrow export structures. Other than Fiji, most countries reveal widening long-term balance of trade deficits. PICs export structure is largely based on land and sea resources while machines and transport equipment form the major imports. In terms of markets, USA, Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Germany and Japan are the main export markets while Indonesia, Korea, China and Thailand are some of the newer export markets.