Driving Forces of High-Tech Export Performance in Less-Developed Countries

Less developed nations grapple with identifying the requisite instruments to ascend the economic development hierarchy. Developing these tools is challenging due to various factors, including institutional constraints, human capital development, insufficient financial resources, physical capital limitations, and restricted access to technology. This research identifies some factors that enable low- and middle-income countries to export high-technology products. The GMM methodology identifies variables including foreign direct investment inflows, regulatory quality, physical capital, imports, and urbanization that significantly affect high-tech exports in the examined countries. A series of policy initiatives aimed at augmenting high-tech exports from low- and middle-income nations is proposed.