This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Imports and TFP at the Firm Level: The Role of Absorptive Capacity

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Augier, Patricia
Cadot, Olivier
Dovis, Marion

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

This paper estimates the effect of the decision to import intermediate goods and capital equipment on Total Factor Productivity (TFP) at the firm level on a panel of Spanish firms covering the period between 1991 and 2002. We use two alternative approaches. In the first, we estimate TFP using the Olley-Pakes semi-parametric method and apply a diff-in-diff estimator with a control group constructed by propensity-score matching. In the second, direct method, we estimate TFP with imported inputs as a state variable in one stage. Both approaches show that the effect of a firm’s decision to source intermediates and capital equipment abroad on its TFP depends critically on its capacity to absorb technology, measured by the proportion of skilled labor. This provides indirect evidence that imported capital equipment may embody new or different technologies that require adaptation at which some firms are better than others. If skilled labor proxies for adaptability, it is how firms adapt their production processes to the foreign inputs that seems to determine whether or not they benefit from them.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.cepr.org/pubs/dps/DP7218.asp
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: CEPR Discussion Papers are free to download for our researchers, subscribers and members. If you fall into one of these categories but have trouble downloading our papers, please contact us at subscribers@cepr.org

As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.

Publisher Info
Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number 7218.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: Mar 2009
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:7218

Contact details of provider:
Postal: Centre for Economic Policy Research, 53--56 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DG
Phone: 44 - 20 - 7183 8801
Fax: 44 - 20 - 7183 8820

Order Information:
Email:

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: ().

Related research
Keywords: absorptive capacity; imports; Olley-Pakes; TFP;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
F2 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business
O1 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
O2 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Eaton, Jonathan & Kortum, Samuel, 2001. "Trade in capital goods," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(7), pages 1195-1235. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Fernandes, Ana M., 2007. "Trade policy, trade volumes and plant-level productivity in Colombian manufacturing industries," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 52-71, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. De Loecker, Jan, 2007. "Do exports generate higher productivity? Evidence from Slovenia," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 69-98, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Rajeev H. Dehejia & Sadek Wahba, 2002. "Propensity Score-Matching Methods For Nonexperimental Causal Studies," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(1), pages 151-161, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Halpern, László & Koren, Miklós & Szeidl, Adam, 2005. "Imports and Productivity," CEPR Discussion Papers 5139, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Joachim Wagner, 2007. "Exports and Productivity: A Survey of the Evidence from Firm-level Data," The World Economy, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 30(1), pages 60-82, 01. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. Richard Blundell & Monica Costa Dias, 2000. "Evaluation methods for non-experimental data," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 21(4), pages 427-468, January. [Downloadable!]
  8. Bottasso, Anna & Sembenelli, Alessandro, 2001. "Market power, productivity and the EU Single Market Program: Evidence from a panel of Italian firms," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 167-186, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Diaz-Di­az, Nieves Lidia & Aguiar-Di­az, Inmaculada & De Saá-Pérez, Petra, 2008. "The effect of technological knowledge assets on performance: The innovative choice in Spanish firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 1515-1529, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. 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. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Girma, Sourafel & Kneller, Richard & Pisu, Mauro, 2007. "Do exporters have anything to learn from foreign multinationals?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 993-1010, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Hiroyuki Kasahara & Beverly Lapham, 2008. "Productivity and the Decision to Import and Export: Theory and Evidence," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  13. Campa, Jose Manuel, 2004. "Exchange rates and trade: How important is hysteresis in trade?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 527-548, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  14. Sembenelli, Alessandro & Siotis, Georges, 2008. "Foreign Direct Investment and mark-up dynamics: Evidence from Spanish firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 107-115, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Acharya, Ram C. & Keller, Wolfgang, 2007. "Technology Transfer through Imports," CEPR Discussion Papers 6296, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  16. Liza Jabbour & Jean Louis Mucchielli, 2007. "Technology transfer through vertical linkages: The case of the Spanish manufacturing industry," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 0, pages 115-136, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Kasahara, Hiroyuki & Rodrigue, Joel, 2008. "Does the use of imported intermediates increase productivity? Plant-level evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 106-118, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  18. Schor, Adriana, 2004. "Heterogeneous productivity response to tariff reduction. Evidence from Brazilian manufacturing firms," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(2), pages 373-396, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. Jeffrey A. Frankel & David Romer, 1999. "Does Trade Cause Growth?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(3), pages 379-399, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Adriana Schor, 2004. "Heterogeneous Productivity Response to Tariff Reduction: Evidence from Brazilian Manufacturing Firms," NBER Working Papers 10544, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  21. László Halpern & Gábor Körösi, 2001. "Efficiency and market share in the Hungarian corporate sector," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 9(3), pages 559-592, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  22. Sourafel Girma & David Greenaway & Richard Kneller, 2004. "Does Exporting Increase Productivity? A Microeconometric Analysis of Matched Firms," Review of International Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 12(5), pages 855-866, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  23. Jonathan Eaton & Samuel Kortum, 2002. "Technology, Geography, and Trade," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 70(5), pages 1741-1779, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  24. Edwin Leuven & Barbara Sianesi, 2003. "PSMATCH2: Stata module to perform full Mahalanobis and propensity score matching, common support graphing, and covariate imbalance testing," Statistical Software Components S432001, Boston College Department of Economics, revised 02 May 2009. [Downloadable!]
  25. Huergo, Elena, 2006. "The role of technological management as a source of innovation: Evidence from Spanish manufacturing firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 1377-1388, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? About five million pdf files are downloaded through RePEc every year.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-25.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.