Self-selection into export markets by business services firms - Evidence from France, Germany and the United Kingdom
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In: Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Vol. 25, No. 1, 06.2013, p. 146-158.
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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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 -