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Firm Productivity and Exports in the Wholesale Sector: Evidence from Japan

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  • TANAKA Ayumu

Abstract

Recent works show that wholesale exporters play a large role in international trade. Wholesalers provide intermediate services for manufacturers and account for a substantial portion of total export values for Italy, Japan, and the United States. This study seeks to provide the first evidence on the link between firm productivity and exports by wholesalers, using Japanese firm-level data. Empirical analysis reveals that wholesale firms are heterogeneous and that exporters are more productive than non-exporters in the wholesale sector, as is seen in the manufacturing sector. In addition, the analysis provides the evidence that exporters with foreign subsidiaries tend to be more productive than those without and that they outperform the latter in terms of other measures such as average exports, export-sales ratio, and the extensive margin of exports. These results are in line with the firm heterogeneity model of exports and are similar with the previous empirical studies on manufacturing.

Suggested Citation

  • TANAKA Ayumu, 2013. "Firm Productivity and Exports in the Wholesale Sector: Evidence from Japan," Discussion papers 13007, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    • Handle: RePEc:eti:dpaper:13007
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Andrew B. Bernard & J. Bradford Jensen & Stephen J. Redding & Peter K. Schott, 2010. "Wholesalers and Retailers in US Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 408-413, May.
    2. Head, Keith & Ries, John, 2001. "Overseas Investment and Firm Exports," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(1), pages 108-122, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. ITO Tadashi & NAKAMURA Ryohei & MORITA Manabu, 2017. "Wholesalers, Indirect Exports, Geography, and Economies of Scope: Evidence from firm transaction data in Japan," Discussion papers 17114, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    2. Ito, Tadashi & Nakamura, Ryohei & Morita, Manabu, 2021. "Wholesalers, indirect exports, geography, and economies of scope: Evidence from firm transaction data in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    3. Francesca Spinelli & Dorothée Rouzet & Hongyong Zhang, 2020. "Networks of foreign affiliates: Evidence from Japanese micro‐data," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(7), pages 1841-1867, July.
    4. Kiyoyasu Tanaka, 2015. "Firm Heterogeneity and FDI in Distribution Services," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(8), pages 1295-1311, August.
    5. Chen, Yi-Fan & Peng, Shin-Kun & Tsai, Tsung-Sheng, 2021. "The market structures in trade intermediation with heterogeneous manufacturing firms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 501-523.
    6. Daunfeldt, Sven-Olov & Engberg, Erik & Halvarsson, Daniel & Kokko, Ari & Tingvall, Patrik, 2019. "Wholesale firms: A catalyst for Swedish exports?," Ratio Working Papers 328, The Ratio Institute.
    7. Tsuyoshi Toshimitsu, 2019. "Trade Intermediaries, the Choice of Export Mode, and the “Learning-By-Exporting” Hypothesis," Discussion Paper Series 190, School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University.

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