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Are low-productive exporters marginal exporters? Evidence from Germany

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  • Joachim Wagner

    () (Leuphana University Lueneburg, Germany)

Abstract

A stylized fact from the emerging literature on the micro-econometrics of international trade and a central implication of the heterogeneous firm models from the new new trade theory is that exporters are more productive than non-exporters. It is argued that this exporter productivity premium is due to extra cost of exporting that can be covered profitably by more productive firms only. Germany is a case in point - exporting firms from manufacturing industries are more productive than non-exporting firms from the same 4-digit industry both on average and over the whole productivity distribution. However, many firms from the lower end of this distribution are exporters. This paper report that these low-productivity exporters are not marginal exporters defined according to the share of exports in total sales, or export participation over time, or the number of goods exported, or the number of countries exported to.

Suggested Citation

  • Joachim Wagner, 2013. "Are low-productive exporters marginal exporters? Evidence from Germany," Working Paper Series in Economics 263, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:lue:wpaper:263
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Helpman, Elhanan, 2011. "Understanding Global Trade," Economics Books, Harvard University Press, number 9780674060784, December.
    2. Stephen J. Redding, 2011. "Theories of Heterogeneous Firms and Trade," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 3(1), pages 77-105, September.
    3. Elhanan Helpman, 2006. "Trade, FDI, and the Organization of Firms," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 44(3), pages 589-630, September.
    4. Andrew Bernard & Joachim Wagner, 1997. "Exports and success in German manufacturing," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 133(1), pages 134-157, March.
    5. David Powell & Joachim Wagner, 2014. "The exporter productivity premium along the productivity distribution: evidence from quantile regression with nonadditive firm fixed effects," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 150(4), pages 763-785, November.
    6. 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.
    7. Joachim Wagner, 2008. "A note on why more West than East German firms export," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 5(4), pages 363-370, December.
    8. Chad Syverson, 2011. "What Determines Productivity?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(2), pages 326-365, June.
    9. Juan Carlos Hallak & Jagadeesh Sivadasan, 2009. "Firms' Exporting Behavior under Quality Constraints," NBER Working Papers 14928, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Lucia Foster & John Haltiwanger & Chad Syverson, 2008. "Reallocation, Firm Turnover, and Efficiency: Selection on Productivity or Profitability?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(1), pages 394-425, March.
    11. Andrew B. Bernard & J. Bradford Jensen & Stephen J. Redding & Peter K. Schott, 2012. "The Empirics of Firm Heterogeneity and International Trade," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 4(1), pages 283-313, July.
    12. David Greenaway & Richard Kneller, 2007. "Firm heterogeneity, exporting and foreign direct investment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(517), pages 134-161, February.
    13. David Powell & Joachim Wagner, 2011. "The Exporter Productivity Premium along the Productivity Distribution Evidence from Unconditional Quantile Regression with Firm Fixed Effects," Working Papers WR-837, RAND Corporation.
    14. Mark Doms & Eric J. Bartelsman, 2000. "Understanding Productivity: Lessons from Longitudinal Microdata," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(3), pages 569-594, September.
    15. David Powell & Joachim Wagner, 2011. "The Exporter Productivity Premium along the Productivity Distribution Evidence from Unconditional Quantile Regression with Firm Fixed Effects," Working Papers 837, RAND Corporation.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Joachim Wagner, 2014. "Low-productive exporters are high-quality exporters. Evidence from Germany," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 34(2), pages 745-756.
    2. Joachim Wagner, 2016. "A survey of empirical studies using transaction level data on exports and imports," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 152(1), pages 215-225, February.
    3. repec:bla:pacecr:v:22:y:2017:i:1:p:101-122 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Arijit Mukherjee, 2016. "Firm-Productivity and Export under Non-Constant Marginal Costs," CESifo Working Paper Series 5770, CESifo Group Munich.
    5. Joachim Wagner, 2014. "New Data from Official Statistics for Imports and Exports of Goods by German Enterprises," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 134(3), pages 371-378.
    6. repec:ebl:ecbull:eb-16-00152 is not listed on IDEAS

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Exports; productivity; low-productive exporters;

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade

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