Exporters and multinationals are larger and more productive than their domestic counterparts. In addition to productivity, financial constraints and labor market constraints might constitute barriers to entry into foreign markets. We present new empirical evidence on the extensive and intensive margin of exports and FDI based on detailed micro-level data of German firms. Our paper has three main findings. First, in line with earlier literature, we find a positive impact of firm size and productivity on firms’ international activities. Second, small firms suffer more frequently from financial constraints than bigger firms, but financial conditions have no strong effect on internationalization. Third, labor market constraints constitute a more severe barrier to foreign activities than financial constraints. Being covered by collective bargaining particularly impedes international activities.
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.
Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung (IAW) in its series IAW Discussion Papers with number
52.
Length: 26 pages Date of creation: Sep 2009 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:iaw:iawdip:52
Contact details of provider: Postal: Ob dem Himmelreich 1, D-72074 T�bingen Phone: (+49) 7071 98 96 -0 Fax: (+49) 7071 98 96 -99 Email: Web page: http://www.iaw.edu/ More information through EDIRC
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Rolf Kleimann).
Find related papers by JEL classification: F2 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business G2 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services
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.: