Export Diversification of Plastic Products Using New Structuralists Approach

The plastic products industry comprises a wide range of products from basic products to intermediate and final products. The expansion and application of plastic products in various industries, as well as the satisfaction of the needs of households, has made this industry one of the main industries and its export diversification is important for the countries. Using new structuralists approach, product space theory and product network science, this paper uses six-digit HS codes for 128 countries over the period 2018-2014 to represent the increase in the diversity of Iranian exports in the plastics industry and determine their sequence of activation. The findings indicate that out of 122 plastic product codes, Iran has 14 products that have an revealed comparative advantage in exports, 47 products with a implied comparative advantage, and 61 products with no revealed and implied comparative advantage. In the next step, considering the positive opportunity gain index, products with implied comparative advantage were reduced from 47 to 12. Finally, using different strategies and applying a combined strategy of Borda and Copeland methods, the activation sequence of these 12 products were identified. According to the combined strategy, the export of rigid polyvinyl chloride pipes, ethylene polymer bags and flexible plastic pipes constitute the major part of Iran's export opportunities.