International trade in medical products. An analysis of Spanish imports of pharmaceutical products and personal protective equipment

Abstract

This paper is aimed at describing the framework in which international trade in medical products takes place, and analyzing the determinants of Spanish imports of the cited products from OECD countries and China. Regarding the latter, two econometric analyses based on the Gravity Model of world trade are performed, concerning 2016 cross-sectional data and 2007-2017 panel data. Results from these analyses suggest that total Spanish imports of the pharmaceutical products and personal protective equipment studied are explained by distinct variables. These variables are EU membership, trade competitiveness, number of researchers and share of high technology exports of the exporting country. Likewise, certain variables determining Spanish imports of various types of pharmaceutical products appear to diverge, including the cited regressors, as well as the value of exports of the same products by Spain. Moreover, the Gravity Model seems to hold over time for Spanish imports of all the medical products considered.