Exports and Firm Characteristics – First Evidence from Fractional Probit Panel Estimates

Using recently released nationally representative data and a new estimator for fractional probit panel models, this paper reconsiders the relationship between the fraction of exports in total sales and firm characteristics in West and East German manufacturing. Controlling for unobserved firm characteristics no impact of human capital and R&D intensity on export performance is found, while firm size is positively related to exporting in West Germany only.Exports, firm characteristics, fractional probit panel model, Germany

Higher Wages in Exporting Firms: Self-selection, Export Effect, or Both? First Evidence from German Linked Employer-Employee Data

ABSTRACT: While it is a stylized fact that exporting firms pay higher wages than non-exporting firms, the direction of the link between exporting and wages is less clear. Using a rich set of German linked employer-employee panel data we follow over time plants that start to export. We show that the exporter wage premium does already exist in the years before firms start to export, and that it does not increase in the following years. Higher wages in exporting firms are thus due to self-selection of more productive, better paying firms into export markets; they are not caused by export activities.exports; wages; exporter wage premium; Germany

Product Differentiation and Profitability in German Manufacturing Firms

We use a unique rich newly built data set for German manufacturing enterprises to investigate the product differentiation – firm performance relationship. We find that an increase in the degree of product diversification has a negative impact on profitability when observed and unobserved firm characteristics are controlled for. The effects are statistically significant and large from an economic point of view. This helps to understand the – at least, at a first glance – surprising fact that nearly 40 percent of all manufacturing enterprises with at least 20 employees in Germany are singleproduct firms according to a detailed classification of products, and that multi-product enterprises with a large number of goods are a rare species.Product differentiation, profitability. Germany

One-third codetermination at company supervisory boards and firm performance in German manufacturing Industries: First direct evidence from a new type of enterprise data

This paper contributes to the empirical literature on the co-determination – firm performance nexus by using a new type of data that combines information on the co-determination status of enterprises from a commercial data base and supplementary information collected from the firms with comprehensive data on the firms from official statistics. The data allow for the first time a direct comparison of enterprises from the same size class with and without codetermination at the supervisory board level. It is shown that one-third codetermination at the supervisory board level in limited-liability companies from West German manufacturing industries seems to be neither positively nor negatively related to two core firm performance indicators, productivity and profitability.One –third co-determination, firm performance, Germany

Exporter Performance in the German Business Services Sector: First Evidence from the Services Statistics Panel

A wide range of empirical studies has analysed exporter performance, especially the relationship between exports and productivity in the manufacturing sector. By contrast, a detailed investigation of the services sector has remained largely neglected. To close this gap, this paper focuses on the relationship between exports and several performance characteristics in the German business services sector—average wage, productivity, size and turnover profitability—in order to determine whether export premia and self-selection into export markets exist in the business services sector. To ensure the comparability of the results with those from the manufacturing sector, empirical models used to analyse the manufacturing sector are transferred to investigate the business services.export premia, self-selection into export markets, business services

Improvements and Future Challenges for the Research Infrastructure in the Field Firm Level Data

This paper discusses issues related to the use of confidential firm level data in Germany. It starts by defining firm level data (in section 1) and reminding us what they are good for (in section 2), who produces firm level data in Germany, and how researchers can access these data today (in section 3). In section 4, new and ongoing developments are discussed that are leading to new products – new types of firm level data that will enhance the research potential available to researchers considerably in the near future. Section 5 concludes with a wish-list.

Higher Productivity in Importing German Manufacturing Firms: Self-selection, Learning from Importing, or Both?

This paper uses a newly available comprehensive panel data set for manufacturing enterprises from 2001 to 2005 to document the first empirical results on the relationship between imports and productivity for Germany, a leading actor on the world market for goods. Furthermore, for the first time the direction of causality in this relationship is investigated systematically by testing for self-selection of more productive firms into importing, and for productivity-enhancing effects of imports (‘learning-by-importing’). We find a positive link between importing and productivity. From an empirical model with fixed enterprise effects that controls for firm size, industry, and unobservable firm heterogeneity we see that the premia for trading internationally are about the same in West and East Germany. Compared to firms that do not trade at all two-way traders do have the highest premia, followed by firms that only export, while firms that only import have the smallest estimated premia. We find evidence for a positive impact of productivity on importing, pointing to self-selection of more productive enterprises into imports, but no evidence for positive effects of importing on productivity due to learning-by-importing.imports, exports, productivity, enterprise panel data, Germany

Exports and Productivity in the German Business Services Sector. First Evidence from the Turnover Tax Statistics Panel

A wide range of empirical studies has analysed the relationship between exports and productivity in the manufacturing sector. By contrast, a detailed investigation of the services sector has remained neglected. To close this gap, this paper provides first evidence about export and productivity in the German business services sector. The database used is the German turnover tax statistics panel, which allows for the first time a detailed longitudinal analyses of exporting business services enterprises. Similar to the manufacturing sector, these enterprises are more productive than non-exporters, and more productive business services enterprises self-select into export markets. However, no evidence is found concerning the hypotheses that exporting increases productivity.export; productivity; business services; panel data

Determinants of Export Behaviour of German Business Services Companies

The determinants of export behaviour at firm level have been widely investigated for manufacturing companies. By contrast, what has remained largely neglected is a detailed investigation in the service sector. As aggregate statistics show, international trade in services has grown significantly over the last few years. However, it is unclear why some companies export and others do not. This paper presents some initial results about the German business services sector at firm level. Using a unique panel dataset of enterprises from the business services sector (transport, storage and communication, real estate, renting and business activities) for the years 2003 to 2005, we analysed the impact of several firm-specific characteristics such as size, productivity, human capital, experience on the national market in Germany, etc. on the firms’ export performance. Further, we used the pooled fractional probit estimator, recently introduced by Papke & Wooldridge, an approach that considers both the special nature of the export intensity variable and in addition unobserved time-invariant characteristics. When there is no control for fixed enterprise effects the overall results are in line with previous studies. When there is a control for unobserved heterogeneity, the positive effects of productivity and human capital disappear, indicating that these variables are not per se positively related to export performance, but rather to time-constant characteristics that are unobserved. Size and product diversification still have a positive and significant effect.Business services sector, export behaviour, firm performance