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What Makes a Successful Exporter?

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  • Holger Görg
  • Richard Kneller
  • Balázs Muraközy

Abstract

We analyse a very rich and unique panel database which provides information on exports at the firm-product level. A stylised fact in the data is that many firms add as well as drop products from the export mix in any given year. Motivated by recent theory we investigate what determines the survival of products in the export mix. Estimating hazard models we find evidence that is consistent with the view that characteristics of the product as well as that of the firm matter. This suggests, in line with theory, that there are firm- as well as firm-product specific competencies that are important for shaping firms’ export mix.

Suggested Citation

  • Holger Görg & Richard Kneller & Balázs Muraközy, 2008. "What Makes a Successful Exporter?," Discussion Papers 08/01, University of Nottingham, GEP.
    • Handle: RePEc:not:notgep:08/01
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    Cited by:

    1. Dahai Fu & Yanrui Wu, 2013. "Export Survival Pattern and Determinants of Chinese Manufacturing Firms," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 13-18, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    2. Hess, Wolfgang & Persson, Maria, 2011. "Exploring the Long-Term Evolution of Trade Survival," Working Paper Series 880, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    3. Córcoles, David & Triguero, Ángela & Cuerva, María Carmen, 2016. "Comparing persistence of product and process innovation: A discrete-time duration analysis of innovation spells," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 10, pages 1-35.
    4. Marianne Matthee & Neil Rankin & Tasha Naughtin & Carli Bezuidenhout, 2016. "The South African manufacturing exporter story," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-38, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Dahai Fu & Yanrui Wu, 2014. "Export survival pattern and its determinants: an empirical study of Chinese manufacturing firms," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 28(1), pages 161-177, May.
    6. Joakim Gullstrand & Maria Persson, 2015. "How to combine high sunk costs of exporting and low export survival," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 151(1), pages 23-51, February.
    7. Christian Volpe Martincus & Jerónimo Carballo, 2008. "Survival of New Exporters in Developing Countries: Does it Matter How They Diversify?," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 9291, Inter-American Development Bank.
    8. Békés, Gábor & Muraközy, Balázs & Harasztosi, Péter, 2011. "Firms and products in international trade: Evidence from Hungary," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 4-24, March.
    9. Pekka Ilmakunnas & Satu Nurmi, 2010. "Dynamics of Export Market Entry and Exit," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 112(1), pages 101-126, March.
    10. Békés, Gábor & Muraközy, Balázs, 2012. "Temporary trade and heterogeneous firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 232-246.
    11. Tibor Besedeš, 2013. "The Role of NAFTA and Returns to Scale in Export Duration," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 59(2), pages 306-336, June.
    12. Jože Damijan & Jozef Konings & Sašo Polanec, 2013. "Pass-on trade: why do firms simultaneously engage in two-way trade in the same varieties?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 149(1), pages 85-111, March.
    13. Zsuzsa Munkácsi, 2009. "Who exports in Hungary? Export concentration by corporate size and foreign ownership, and the effect of foreign ownership on export orientation," MNB Bulletin (discontinued), Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary), vol. 4(2), pages 22-33, July.
    14. Keun Lee & Sanika Sulochani Ramanayake, 2018. "Adding-Up Problem and Wage–Productivity Gap in Exports of Developing Countries: A Source of the Middle-Income Trap," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(5), pages 769-788, December.
    15. Jaan Masso & Priit Vahter, 2011. "Exporting And Productivity: The Effects Of Multi-Market And Multi-Product Export Entry," University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Working Paper Series 83, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu (Estonia).
    16. Volpe Martincus, Christian & Carballo, Jerónimo, 2008. "Survival of New Exporters in Developing Countries: Does it Matter How They Diversify?," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 2494, Inter-American Development Bank.
    17. João Amador & Luca Opromolla, 2013. "Product and destination mix in export markets," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 149(1), pages 23-53, March.
    18. Xu, Jiayun & Mao, Qilin & Tong, Jiadong, 2016. "The impact of exchange rate movements on multi-product firms' export performance: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 46-62.
    19. Marianne Matthee & Neil Rankin & Tasha Naughtin & Carli Bezuidenhout, 2016. "The South African manufacturing exporter story," WIDER Working Paper Series 038, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    20. Hess, Wolfgang & Persson, Maria, 2009. "Survival and Death in International Trade - Discrete-Time Durations of EU Imports," Working Papers 2009:12, Lund University, Department of Economics.
    21. Balazs Murakozy & Gabor Bekes, 2009. "Temporary Trade," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 0909, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    22. Alessandro Nicita & Miho Shirotori & Bolormaa Tumurchudur Klok, 2013. "Survival Analysis Of The Exports Of Least Developed Countries: The Role Of Comparative Advantage," UNCTAD Blue Series Papers 54, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    23. Wolfgang Hess & Maria Persson, 2012. "The duration of trade revisited," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 1083-1107, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Export mix; product level; product survival; competencies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade

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