International Trade and Productivity: Does Destination Matter?

The paper empirically assesses microeconomic exporting-productivity nexus using the data for Ukrainian manufacturing and service sectors for the years 2000-2005. The results of the estimation show that firms with higher total factor productivity (TFP) levels in the period prior to entry are much more likely to enter export markets. Also age, size and intangible assets of the firm have significant positive influence on the probability of exporting. The results also suggest significant positive post-entry productivity effect for the firms that enter export markets and negative productivity effect for those that exit. At the industry level the results also confirm the presence of learning-by-exporting effect. However the effect is not universal and varies between different types of exporting firms and export destinations. Firms that export to the countries of the European Union and other OECD countries experience higher advances in their TFP than firms exporting to other CIS countries. The magnitude of the effect is also positively correlated with the capital intensity of the industries. These findings have important implications for the formation of industrial policies, suggesting that government programs designed to upgrade firms’ productivity and innovative capabilities would increase the ability of domestic firms to overcome foreign market barriers as well as assimilate further benefits arising from exporting, which can further enhance international competitiveness of Ukrainian firms.