TY - JOUR

T1 - Self-selection into export markets by business services firms - Evidence from France, Germany and the United Kingdom

AU - Wagner, Joachim

AU - Vogel, Alexander

AU - Temouri, Yama

PY - 2013/6

Y1 - 2013/6

N2 - This study investigates business services firms that (start to) export, comparing exporters to firms that serve the national market only. We estimate identically specified empirical models using comparable enterprise data from France, Germany, and the UK. Our findings show that exporters are on average more productive and pay higher wages in all three countries. However, results for profitability differ across borders, where profitability of exporters is significantly smaller in Germany, significantly larger in France, and does not differ significantly in the UK. The results for wages and productivity hold in the years before firms start exporting, which indicates self-selection into exporting of more productive services firms that pay higher wages. The surprising finding of self-selection of less profitable German services firms into exporting does not show up among firms from France and the UK. In all three countries we do not find evidence for positive effects of exporting on firm performance.

AB - This study investigates business services firms that (start to) export, comparing exporters to firms that serve the national market only. We estimate identically specified empirical models using comparable enterprise data from France, Germany, and the UK. Our findings show that exporters are on average more productive and pay higher wages in all three countries. However, results for profitability differ across borders, where profitability of exporters is significantly smaller in Germany, significantly larger in France, and does not differ significantly in the UK. The results for wages and productivity hold in the years before firms start exporting, which indicates self-selection into exporting of more productive services firms that pay higher wages. The surprising finding of self-selection of less profitable German services firms into exporting does not show up among firms from France and the UK. In all three countries we do not find evidence for positive effects of exporting on firm performance.

KW - Economics

KW - Business services firms

KW - Exports

KW - France

KW - Germany

KW - UK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84877046825&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.strueco.2012.02.004

DO - 10.1016/j.strueco.2012.02.004

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 25

SP - 146

EP - 158

JO - Structural Change and Economic Dynamics

JF - Structural Change and Economic Dynamics

SN - 0954-349X

IS - 1

ER -