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Margins, concentration, and the performance of firms in international trade: Evidence from Japanese customs data

Author

Listed:
  • Keiko Ito

    (Graduate School of Social Sciences, Chiba University)

  • Masahiro Endoh

    (Faculty of Business and Commerce, Keio University)

  • Naoto Jinji

    (Graduate School of Economics, Kyoto University)

  • Toshiyuki Matsuura

    (Keio Economic Observatory, Keio University)

  • Toshihiro Okubo

    (Faculty of Economics, Keio University)

  • Akira Sasahara

    (Faculty of Economics, Keio University)

Abstract

This study is the first to comprehensively investigate international trade at the firm-level using Japan's customs data for the 2014-2020 period. We first decompose international trade into the intensive and extensive margin and show that the intensive margin accounts for around 30% and 40% of the variation in partner country-specific exports and imports, respectively. We next find a substantial concentration of trading firms: in 2017, the top 10% of exporters accounted for 96.6% of all exports, while the top 10% of importers were responsible for 94.6% of all imports. Finally, we match the customs data with other firm-level datasets and estimate the performance premia of exporting firms. Our findings indicate that exporting firms outperform non-exporting firms in all aspects we consider: sales, value added, the number of employees, the capital-labor ratio, productivity, and wages. Interestingly, the exporter premia for value added, labor productivity, and total factor productivity decreased between 2014 and 2016 and then increased until 2019, whereas the exporter premium for the average wage steadily increased.

Suggested Citation

  • Keiko Ito & Masahiro Endoh & Naoto Jinji & Toshiyuki Matsuura & Toshihiro Okubo & Akira Sasahara, 2024. "Margins, concentration, and the performance of firms in international trade: Evidence from Japanese customs data," Keio-IES Discussion Paper Series 2024-017, Institute for Economics Studies, Keio University.
    • Handle: RePEc:keo:dpaper:2024-017
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bergstrand, Jeffrey H. & Cray, Stephen R. & Gervais, Antoine, 2023. "Increasing marginal costs, firm heterogeneity, and the gains from “deep” international trade agreements," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Japan's international trade; customs data; intensive and extensive margin of trade; exporter premia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance

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