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Firms’ exports, volatility and skills: Evidence from France
[Exportations, volatilité et compétences des entreprises : l'exemple de la France]

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Bas

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Pamela Bombarda

    (THEMA - Théorie économique, modélisation et applications - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - CY - CY Cergy Paris Université)

  • Sébastien Jean

    (CEPII - Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales - Centre d'analyse stratégique, ECO-PUB - Economie Publique - AgroParisTech - Université Paris-Saclay - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, LIRSA - Laboratoire interdisciplinaire de recherche en sciences de l'action - CNAM - Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers [CNAM] - HESAM - HESAM Université - Communauté d'universités et d'établissements Hautes écoles Sorbonne Arts et métiers université)

  • Gianluca Orefice

    (Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres, LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

This paper studies the effects of globalization on the employment growth volatility by investigating the relationship between firms' export intensity and labor demand volatility across skills. Based on detailed firm-level administrative French data for the period 1996–2007, we show that firms with intense export activity exhibit lower volatility of labor demand for skilled, compared to unskilled workers. Both the theoretical and empirical analysis point to the importance of skill-intensive fixed export costs in explaining this effect. Our identification strategy is based on an instrumental variable approach to provide evidence of causal effects. Our findings show that a higher level of export intensity increases the employment growth volatility for unskilled relative to skilled workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Bas & Pamela Bombarda & Sébastien Jean & Gianluca Orefice, 2021. "Firms’ exports, volatility and skills: Evidence from France [Exportations, volatilité et compétences des entreprises : l'exemple de la France]," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-03403887, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-03403887
    DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2021.103941
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03403887
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    Cited by:

    1. Arnd Kölling & Antje Mertens, 2022. "Export activities and the demand for skills in German businesses," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 49(1), pages 189-223, February.
    2. Kölling, Arnd & Mertens, Antje, 2020. "Exporting behavior and the demand for skills in German establishments," Working Papers 97, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute of Management Berlin (IMB).
    3. Andreas Hauptmann, 2019. "Worker turnover in German exporting establishments," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 39(2), pages 1266-1271.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Export intensity; Employment volatility; Skilled labor; Firm-level data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • L60 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - General

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