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PRWP

Reproducibility package for Industrial Policy Under Constraints: Evidence From Pakistan’s Export Subsidy Schemes

2025
Get Reproducibility Package
Reference ID
RR_PAK_2025_370
DOI
https://doi.org/10.60572/xg55-pq76
Author(s)
Gonzalo Varela, Stefania Lovo
Collections
World Bank Policy Research Working Papers
Metadata
JSON
Created on
Jul 02, 2025
Last modified
Jul 07, 2025
  • Overview
  • Reproducibility Package
  • Description
  • Scope and coverage
  • Disclaimer
  • Access and rights
  • Contacts
  • Information on metadata
  • Citation

    • Overview

    Abstract

    This paper investigates the impact of an export promotion policy consisting of ad-valorem subsidies for a set of targeted products, on the performance of Pakistani exports in the textile sector. The findings show that the policy had a small overall impact on exports, while it induced substantial reallocation of exports across products. The policy induced an increase in exports of traditional products, mostly garments, which were eligible for the highest rebate rates, at the expense of non-eligible or lower-rated products. The paper presents suggestive evidence indicating that the observed effects are partially attributed to shifts in the composition of exporters, through exits and entries alongside capacity constraints. Finally, the evidence shows that the scheme induced strategic misreporting at the border, which contributed marginally to the overall effects.

    Reproducibility Package

    Scripts
    Get Reproducibility Package
    Title
    Reproducibility package for Industrial Policy Under Constraints: Evidence From Pakistan’s Export Subsidy Schemes
    Date
    2025-06
    Dependencies
    Stata dependencies are listed in the ado folder.
    Notes
    Computational reproducibility verified by Development Impact (DIME) Analytics team, World Bank.
    Source code repository
    Repository name URI
    Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank) https://reproducibility.worldbank.org
    Software
    Name
    Stata
    Version
    18 MP

    Reproducibility

    Technology environment

    Paper exhibits were reproduced on a computer with the following specifications:
    • OS: Windows 11 Enterprise
    • Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1145G7 CPU @ 2.60GHz
    • Memory available: 15.7 GB
    • Software version: Stata version 18 MP
    Technology requirements

    ~10 minutes run time
    Reproduction instructions

    To reproduce the results, a new user should follow these steps:

    1. Download and get access to the data that is not included in the package, and place it in the appropriate folder.
    2. Change the path in the main .do file to match your local setup.
    3. Run the code.
      Since most of the data is licensed or confidential, the exhibits produced by the replicators are included in the Output folder, so external users can review and compare them against the published paper.

    Data

    Datasets
    Name
    UN Comtrade data
    Note
    Source: The United Nations, UN Comtrade, accessed via the WITS Portal. Date of Access: May 2021. File Location: Input/Export_HS6.csv and Export_toEU_HS6.csv; PAK_export_to_top20_all_08_10.csv; PAK_export_to_top20_all_11_15.csv; PAK_export_to_top20_all_16_19.csv, Top20imports_from_PAK_all_09_14.csv; Top20imports_from_PAK_all_15_19.csv. The data was retrieved through a query on the UN Comtrade database using the World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS) portal. Instructions on how to reproduce the exact queries can be found in the README. The package also includes a data folder structure to help users locate and, if necessary, re-download the data. Please note that this data is regularly updated. The reviewers attempted to verify whether the publicly available version of the data matched the one used in the original analysis, but found that the public version had since been updated and has some differences from the version used by the authors. Hashes for the datasets are included in the reproducibility package for verification purposes.
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available but does not allow republication
    License URL
    https://uncomtrade.org/docs/policy-on-use-and-re-dissemination/
    Data URL
    https://wits.worldbank.org/WITS/WITS/Default-A.aspx?Page=Default
    Name
    World Development Indicators
    Note
    Source: World Bank. Date of Access: May 2021. Located at: Input/GDP.csv and GDPdeflator.dta. Selected series: GDP (constant 2010 US$), GDP per capita (constant 2010 US$), selected period: 2008–2020, and query through wbopendata for deflator: wbopendata, indicator(NY.GDP.DEFL.ZS) country(PAK;) long clear.
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)
    License URL
    http://worldbank.org/en/about/legal/terms-of-use-for-datasets
    Data URL
    https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators
    Name
    Exporter transaction data (2005-2010, 2015-2017, 2018-2021)
    Note
    Source: Central Bank of Pakistan. Access: The data was shared with the authors by the Central Bank of Pakistan, after agreeing on the research with the Research Department of the Central Bank of Pakistan. Researchers can contact the Central Bank of Pakistan through the Ministry of Commerce at: mincom@commerce.gov.pk. Variables included are listed in the README file. Date of Access: April 2021. Name of data Files: Input/Exporter_transaction_2008_2021.dta. Hash for the dataset is included in the reproducibility package for verification purposes.
    Access policy
    Data is restricted and not included in the reproducibility package
    Name
    Export data at 8-digit level
    Note
    Source: Central Bank of Pakistan. The data were received by email, after emailing contacts at the Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan. Researchers can contact the Ministry of Commerce at: mincom@commerce.gov.pk. Variables included are listed in the README file. Date of Access: April 2021. Located at: Input/Export_HS8_2005_2009.dta; Export_HS8_2010_2021.dta. Variables included are detailed in the README file. Hashes for the datasets are included in the reproducibility package for verification purposes.
    Access policy
    Data is restricted and is not included in the reproducibility package
    Name
    Duty Drawback of Taxes eligibility Data
    Note
    Source: Manually compiled by the authors from various Statutory Regulatory Ordinances (SROs) issued by the Government of Pakistan. The information has been manually collected and compiled by the authors, and it has been made available for products at the 8 and 6-digit level. Date of data creation: April 2021. Located at: DDT_DLTL_HS6.dta, DDT_HS8.dta
    Access policy
    Data is included in the reproducibility package
    Data statement

    Some data is restricted and has not been included in the reproducibility package. For more details, please refer to the README file.

    Description

    Output
    Type
    Working Paper
    Title
    Industrial Policy Under Constraints: Evidence From Pakistan’s Export Subsidy Schemes
    Authors
    Stefania Lovo, Gonzalo J. Varela
    Description
    Policy Research Working Papers (PRWP) 11136
    URL
    http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099247006032525653
    DOI
    doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-11136
    Authors
    Author Affiliation Email
    Gonzalo Varela World Bank gvarela@worldbank.org
    Stefania Lovo University of Reading s.lovo@reading.ac.uk
    Date of production

    2025-06-25

    Scope and coverage

    Geographic locations
    Location Code
    Pakistan PAK
    Keywords
    Export Promotion Export Subsidies Industrial Policy Pakistan
    Topics
    ID Topic Parent topic ID Vocabulary Vocabulary URI
    F13 Trade Policy • International Trade Organizations F1 Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)
    F14 Empirical Studies of Trade F1 Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)
    F63 Economic Development F6 Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)
    O2 Development Planning and Policy O Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)

    Disclaimer

    Disclaimer

    The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.

    Access and rights

    License
    Name URI
    Modified BSD3 https://opensource.org/license/bsd-3-clause/

    Contacts

    Contacts
    Name Affiliation Email
    Gonzalo Varela World Bank gvarela@worldbank.org
    Reproducibility WBG World Bank reproducibility@worldbank.org

    Information on metadata

    Producers
    Name Abbreviation Affiliation Role
    Reproducibility WBG DIME World Bank - Development Impact Department Verification and preparation of metadata
    Date of Production

    2025-06-25
    Document version

    1

    Citation

    Citation
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