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Are Exporters More Productive than Non-Exporters?

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Abstract

In an effort to explain the observed heterogeneity in the exporting decisions of firms, the empirical trade literature has concluded that exporting firms are more productive than non-exporting firms. In this paper, I show that the foundation for this conclusion is weak, given that the productivity estimates used in the literature suffer from several sources of potential bias. I apply a new method for estimating production functions to control for these sources of bias. Using data on manufacturing firms in Colombia, I find that, while the measures of productivity used in the literature imply that exporters are more productive, once I correct for the bias, there is no correlation between productivity and export status. This result is inconsistent with productivity being the main determinant of entry into export markets, and suggests the importance of other sources of heterogeneity in explaining firm-level exporting decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • David A. Rivers, 2013. "Are Exporters More Productive than Non-Exporters?," University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP) Working Papers 20132, University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP).
    • Handle: RePEc:uwo:hcuwoc:20132
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    File URL: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1091&context=economicscibc
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    1. Van Biesebroeck, Johannes, 2005. "Exporting raises productivity in sub-Saharan African manufacturing firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 373-391, December.
    2. De Loecker, Jan, 2007. "Do exports generate higher productivity? Evidence from Slovenia," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 69-98, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Alessandro Borin & Michele Mancini, 2016. "Foreign direct investment and firm performance: an empirical analysis of Italian firms," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 152(4), pages 705-732, November.
    2. David C. López-Valenzuela & Enrique Montes-Uribe & Héctor M. Zárate-Solano & Alvaro Carmona-Duarte, 2019. "Determinantes y evolución entre precios y cantidades de las exportaciones industriales de Colombia: un estudio a partir de un modelo de Panel-VAR," Borradores de Economia 1075, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    3. Camila Casas & Federico J. Díez & Alejandra González, 2015. "Productivity and Export Market Participation: Evidence from Colombia," Borradores de Economia 12678, Banco de la Republica.
    4. Hu, Zhongzhong & Rodrigue, Joel & Tan, Yong & Yu, Chunhai, 2017. "Product churning, reallocation, and Chinese export growth," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 147-164.
    5. Camila Casas & Federico J. Diez & Alejandra Gonzalez, 2017. "Heterogeneous exporters: quantitative differences and qualitative similarities," Working Papers 16-26, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

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