IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/canjec/v45y2012i4p1310-1331.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Second thoughts on the exporter productivity premium

Author

Listed:
  • Philipp J.H. Schröder
  • Allan Sørensen

Abstract

Contrary to the prevailing interpretation, this paper shows that the central models of trade with heterogeneous firms (Melitz 2003; Bernard et al. 2003) exhibit ambiguous predictions for the exporter productivity premium. This prospect arises because of differences between theoretical and empirical representations of firm productivity. Instead of marginal productivity, we examine in both models the theoretical equivalent of empirically observable productivity (value‐added per employee). Given the presence of fixed export costs or heterogeneous mark‐ups and trade costs, the observable productivity of exporters in proximity to the export‐indifferent firm turns out to be lower than that of non‐exporters; that is, the productivity distributions overlap. The paper reviews empirical literature that reports non‐positive exporter productivity premia in firm‐level data and discusses implications for empirical research on exporter performance, including learning and the role of non‐parametric regressions (stochastic dominance, quantile regressions), fixed costs, and productivity distributions. Contrairement à l’interprétation qui prévaut, ce mémoire montre que les modèles centraux de commerce avec des firmes hétérogènes (Melitz 2003; Bernard et al. 2003) engendrent des prédictions ambiguës quant à la prime de productivité des firmes exportatrices. Cela se produit à cause des différences entre les représentations théoriques été empiriques de la productivité des firmes. Au lieu de s’en tenir à la productivité marginale, on examine dans les deux modèles l’équivalent théorique de la productivité empiriquement observable (la valeur ajoutée par employé). Compte tenu de la présence de coûts fixes de l’exportation ou des marges bénéficiaires et coûts de commerce hétérogènes, la productivité observable des exportateurs à proximité de la firme indifférente aux exportations s’avère être plus basse que celle des non‐exportateurs, c’est‐à‐dire qu’il y a chevauchement des distributions de productivité. Le texte fait une revue de la littérature empirique qui fait état de primes non‐positives de la productivité des firmes exportatrices mesurée au niveau de l’entreprise, et discute les implications de ces résultats pour la recherche empirique sur la performance des firmes exportatrices, y compris l’apprentissage, ainsi que le rôle des régressions non‐paramétriques (dominance stochastique, régressions des quantiles), des coûts fixes, et des distributions de productivité.

Suggested Citation

  • Philipp J.H. Schröder & Allan Sørensen, 2012. "Second thoughts on the exporter productivity premium," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(4), pages 1310-1331, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:canjec:v:45:y:2012:i:4:p:1310-1331
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5982.2012.01742.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5982.2012.01742.x
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1540-5982.2012.01742.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bee Yan Aw & Mark J. Roberts & Daniel Yi Xu, 2011. "R&D Investment, Exporting, and Productivity Dynamics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(4), pages 1312-1344, June.
    2. Andrew B. Bernard & Jonathan Eaton & J. Bradford Jensen & Samuel Kortum, 2003. "Plants and Productivity in International Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1268-1290, September.
    3. Davide Castellani & Antonello Zanfei, 2007. "Internationalisation, Innovation and Productivity: How Do Firms Differ in Italy?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 156-176, January.
    4. Helmut Fryges & Joachim Wagner, 2021. "Exports and Productivity Growth — First Evidence from a Continuous Treatment Approach," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Joachim Wagner (ed.), MICROECONOMETRIC STUDIES OF FIRMS’ IMPORTS AND EXPORTS Advanced Methods of Analysis and Evidence from German Enterprises, chapter 6, pages 57-86, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    5. Joachim Wagner, 2016. "Exports and Productivity: A Survey of the Evidence from Firm Level Data," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Microeconometrics of International Trade, chapter 1, pages 3-41, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    6. Andrew Bernard & Joachim Wagner, 1997. "Exports and success in German manufacturing," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 133(1), pages 134-157, March.
    7. Marc J. Melitz, 2003. "The Impact of Trade on Intra-Industry Reallocations and Aggregate Industry Productivity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 71(6), pages 1695-1725, November.
    8. Matthieu Crozet & Pamina Koenig, 2010. "Structural gravity equations with intensive and extensive margins," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 43(1), pages 41-62, February.
    9. Joachim Wagner, 2006. "Export Intensity and Plant Characteristics: What Can We Learn from Quantile Regression?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 142(1), pages 195-203, April.
    10. Sourafel Girma & Richard Kneller & Mauro Pisu, 2005. "Exports versus FDI: An Empirical Test," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 141(2), pages 193-218, July.
    11. Aw, Bee Yan & Chung, Sukkyun & Roberts, Mark J, 2000. "Productivity and Turnover in the Export Market: Micro-level Evidence from the Republic of Korea and Taiwan (China)," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 14(1), pages 65-90, January.
    12. Martina Lawless & Karl Whelan, 2014. "Where Do Firms Export, How Much and Why?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(8), pages 1027-1050, August.
    13. Thierry Mayer & Gianmarco Ottaviano, 2007. "The happy few: the internationalisation of European firms New facts based on firm-level evidence," Working Papers hal-03459258, HAL.
    14. Catia Montagna, 2001. "Efficiency Gaps, Love of Variety and International Trade," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 68(269), pages 27-44, February.
    15. Elhanan Helpman & Marc J. Melitz & Stephen R. Yeaple, 2004. "Export Versus FDI with Heterogeneous Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 300-316, March.
    16. Alven H.S. Lam, 2000. "Republic of China (Taiwan)," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(5), pages 327-336, November.
    17. David Greenaway & Richard Kneller, 2007. "Firm heterogeneity, exporting and foreign direct investment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(517), pages 134-161, February.
    18. Girma, Sourafel & Gorg, Holger & Strobl, Eric, 2004. "Exports, international investment, and plant performance: evidence from a non-parametric test," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 83(3), pages 317-324, June.
    19. Jørgensen, Jan G. & Schröder, Philipp J.H., 2008. "Fixed export cost heterogeneity, trade and welfare," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(7), pages 1256-1274, October.
    20. repec:lic:licosd:14804 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Thierry Mayer & Gianmarco Ottaviano, 2008. "The Happy Few: The Internationalisation of European Firms," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics;Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), vol. 43(3), pages 135-148, May.
    22. Richard Baldwin, 2005. "Heterogeneous Firms and Trade: Testable and Untestable Properties of the Melitz Model," NBER Working Papers 11471, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Delgado, Miguel A. & Farinas, Jose C. & Ruano, Sonia, 2002. "Firm productivity and export markets: a non-parametric approach," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 397-422, August.
    24. David Greenaway & Joakim Gullstrand & Richard Kneller, 2005. "Exporting May Not Always Boost Firm Productivity," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 141(4), pages 561-582, December.
    25. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/10147 is not listed on IDEAS
    26. José C. Fariñas & Ana Martín‐Marcos, 2007. "Exporting and Economic Performance: Firm‐level Evidence of Spanish Manufacturing," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 618-646, April.
    27. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/10147 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Stefano Costa & Federico Sallusti & Claudio Vicarelli & Davide Zurlo, 2022. "Tech on the ROC: export threshold and technology adoption interacted," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(4), pages 1593-1611, December.
    2. Ingo Geishecker & Philipp J.H. Schröder & Allan Sörensen, 2014. "Explaining the Size Differences of Exporter Productivity Premia: Theory and Evidence," CESifo Working Paper Series 4630, CESifo.
    3. Ayhab F. Saad, 2017. "Trade and technology adoption," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(1), pages 1-24, January.
    4. Diana Alexandra Gonçalves Costa & Ana Teresa Cunha de Pinho Tavares Lehmann, 2015. "Performance Differences between Exporters and Non-Exporters: the Case of Portugal," FEP Working Papers 569, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Philipp J.H. Schröeder & Allan Sørensen, 2009. "Second Thoughts on Exporter Productivity," Economics Working Papers 2009-03, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    2. Neil Foster-McGregor, 2012. "Innovation and Technology Transfer across Countries," wiiw Research Reports 380, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.
    3. Han-Hsin Chang & Charles Van Marrewijk, 2013. "Firm heterogeneity and development: Evidence from Latin American countries," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(1), pages 11-52, February.
    4. Joachim Wagner, 2016. "Exports and Productivity: A Survey of the Evidence from Firm Level Data," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Microeconometrics of International Trade, chapter 1, pages 3-41, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    5. Elhanan Helpman, 2006. "Trade, FDI, and the Organization of Firms," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 44(3), pages 589-630, September.
    6. Dalgic, Basak & Fazlioglu, Burcu & Gasiorek, Michael, 2015. "Costs of trade and self-selection into exporting and importing: The case of Turkish manufacturing firms," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 9, pages 1-28.
    7. Flora Bellone & Patrick Musso & Lionel Nesta & Michel Quere, 2008. "The U-Shaped Productivity Dynamics of French Exporters," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 144(4), pages 636-659, December.
    8. Francisco J. Santos-Arteaga & Celia Torrecillas & Madjid Tavana, 2019. "Dynamic effects of learning on the innovative outputs and productivity in Spanish multinational enterprises," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 97-131, February.
    9. Fabian Unterlass, 2013. "The relationship between innovation, exports and economic performance. Empirical evidence for 21 EU countries," EcoMod2013 5655, EcoMod.
    10. Bellone, Flora & Kiyota, Kozo & Matsuura, Toshiyuki & Musso, Patrick & Nesta, Lionel, 2014. "International productivity gaps and the export status of firms: Evidence from France and Japan," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 56-74.
    11. Flora Bellone & Patrick Musso & Lionel Nesta & Stefano Schiavo, 2010. "Financial Constraints and Firm Export Behaviour," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 347-373, March.
    12. Joachim Wagner, 2016. "International Trade and Firm Performance: A Survey of Empirical Studies since 2006," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Microeconometrics of International Trade, chapter 2, pages 43-87, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    13. Diana Alexandra Gonçalves Costa & Ana Teresa Cunha de Pinho Tavares Lehmann, 2015. "Performance Differences between Exporters and Non-Exporters: the Case of Portugal," FEP Working Papers 569, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    14. Maria Rosaria Ferrante & Marzia Freo, 2012. "The Total Factor Productivity Gap between Internationalised and Domestic Firms: Net Premium or Heterogeneity Effect?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(9), pages 1186-1214, September.
    15. Andrzej Cieślik & Jan Michałek & Anna Michałek, 2012. "Determinanty działalności eksportowej polskich przedsiębiorstw," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 7-8, pages 67-84.
    16. Yevgeniya Shevtsova, 2012. "International Trade and Productivity: Does Destination Matter?," Discussion Papers 12/18, Department of Economics, University of York.
    17. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/6pua9o9a7l90jbmsrrjb1577vb is not listed on IDEAS
    18. David C. Francis & Helena Schweiger, 2017. "Not so different from non-traders," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 25(2), pages 185-238, April.
    19. Greenaway, David & Kneller, Richard, 2008. "Exporting, productivity and agglomeration," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(5), pages 919-939, July.
    20. Tarlok Singh, 2010. "Does International Trade Cause Economic Growth? A Survey," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(11), pages 1517-1564, November.
    21. Yang, Yong & Mallick, Sushanta, 2014. "Explaining cross-country differences in exporting performance: The role of country-level macroeconomic environment," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 246-259.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:canjec:v:45:y:2012:i:4:p:1310-1331. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1540-5982 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.