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Firm exporting and productivity: what if productivity is no longer a black box

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: This paper uses Vietnamese firm-level data to examine the relationship between firm productivity and exporting. In particular, this paper shows that more productive firms are more likely than less productive firms to export, consistent with the extensive prior literature. However, this paper finds no evidence that exporting affects productivity, which can be decomposed into technical efficiency change, technological progress, and scale change. Thus, the findings support a large role of self-selection in accounting for export decision, but little gain from learning-by-exporting in the case of Vietnamese Small medium sized enterprises (SMEs). These findings imply that export promotion policies may not be effective unless accompanied by strategies to help SMEs become more productive.

Source: Baltic Journal of Economics

DOI: 10.1080/1406099x.2016.1187382

Authors: Huong Van Vu, Mark Holmes, Tuyen Quang Tran, Steven Lim

Institutions: University of Waikato, VNU University of Economics and Business

Language: English

Topic: Global trade and economics

Subfield: General Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,103