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Export and firms' performance in North Macedonia: self selection or learning by doing?

Author

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  • Biljana Jovanovic

    (National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia)

Abstract

Export is an important contributor to growth with numerous direct and indirect macroeconomic benefits. Moreover, firms engaged in exporting activity tend to have superior characteristics compared to their non-exporting peers. The paper is focused on identifying reasons behind this superiority of exporters by testing two hypothesis – self-selection and learning by doing hypothesis. The analysis is done on a sample of over 1,900 manufacturing firms annually, for the period 2013-2017. In line with previous empirical research, we found evidence in favor of the self-selection hypothesis. This means that more successful and more productive firms become exporters as a result of their performance i.e. they self-select themselves in the international market. In addition, our results suggest that, complementary to the self-selection process, there are some evidence of the validity of learning by doing hypothesis.

Suggested Citation

  • Biljana Jovanovic, 2020. "Export and firms' performance in North Macedonia: self selection or learning by doing?," Working Papers 2020-01, National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia.
    • Handle: RePEc:mae:wpaper:2020-01
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Biljana Jovanovic & Nikola Naumovski, 2021. "Minimum wage reform and firms’ performance – evidence from North Macedonia," Working Papers 2021-02, National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    self selection; learning by doing; export; matching;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade

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