GMM estimation of the autoregressiveparameter in a spatial autoregressive errormodel using regression residuals

This paper suggests an improved GMM estimator for the autoregressive parameter of a spatial autoregressive error model by taking into account that unobservable regression disturbances are di.erent from observable regression residuals. Although this di.erence decreases in large samples, it is important in small samples. Monte Carlo simu­lations show that the bias can be reduced by 65 - 80% compared to a GMM estimator that neglects the difference between disturbances and residuals. The mean squared error is smaller, too. --GMM estimation,spatial autoregression,regression residuals

Testing large-dimensional correlation

This paper introduces a test for zero correlation in situations where the correlation matrix is large compared to the sample size. The test statistic is the sum of the squared correlation coefficients in the sample. We derive its limiting null distribution as the number of variables as well as the sample size converge to infinity. A Monte Carlo simulation finds both size and power for finite samples to be suitable. We apply the test to the vector of default rates, a risk factor in portfolio credit risk, in different sectors of the German economy. --testing correlation,n-p-asymptotics,portfolio credit risk

Export Behavior and Firm Productivity in German Manufacturing: A firm-level analysis

This paper analyses the relationship between firm productivity and export behavior in German manufacturing firms. We examine whether productivity increases the probability of exporting, and assert that there is a causal relationship from high productivity to entering foreign markets, as postulated by the recent literature on international trade with heterogeneous firms. In estimating productivity, we control for a possible simultaneity bias by using semiparametric estimation techniques. Moreover, we apply a matching technique in order to analyze whether the presence in international markets enabled firms to achieve further productivity improvements, without finding significant evidence for this. We conclude that high-productivity firms self-select themselves into export markets, while exporting itself does not play a significant role for productivity improvements.Total Factor Productivity; Exports; Export-led growth; Heterogeneous firms.

Exports versus FDI in German manufacturing: firm performance and participation in international markets

This paper tests some of the predictions of recent advances in trade theory that have focused on different trade patterns of firms within the same sector. Helpman, Melitz and Yeaple (2005) develop a model in which innate productivity differences between firms determine the degree of international engagement of firms: The least productive firms produce for the domestic market, better performers engage in export activities, and the top firms establish foreign subsidiaries. Using German firm-level data from 1996 to 2002, we test this prediction using non-parametric methods, by examining the distribution functions of the three subsets of firms for stochastic dominance. Rather than just comparing first moments, this technique allows us to compare productivity over the entire distribution. Our results show robust support for the prediction from theory. --Export,FDI,Heterogeneous firms,Total Factor Productivity

Exports versus FDI in German Manufacturing: Firm Performance and Participation in International Markets

This paper tests some of the predictions of recent advances in trade theory that have focused on different trade patterns of firms within the same sector. Helpman, Melitz and Yeaple (2005) develop a model in which innate productivity differences between firms determine the degree of international engagement of firms: The least productive firms produce for the domestic market, better performers engage in export activities, and the top firms establish foreign subsidiaries. Using German firm-level data from 1996 to 2002, we test this prediction using non-parametric methods, by examining the distribution functions of the three subsets of firms for stochastic dominance. Rather than just comparing first moments, this technique allows us to compare productivity over the entire distribution. Our results show robust support for the prediction from theory. --Exports,FDI,Heterogeneous firms,Total Factor Productivity

Export Behavior and Firm Productivity in German Manufacturing: A Firm-level Analysis

This paper analyses the relationship between firm productivity and export behavior in German manufacturing firms. We examine whether productivity increases the probability of exporting, and assert that there is a causal relationship from high productivity to entering foreign markets, as postulated by the recent literature on international trade with heterogeneous firms. In estimating productivity, we control for a possible simultaneity bias by using semiparametric estimation techniques. Moreover, we apply a matching technique in order to analyze whether the presence in international markets enabled firms to achieve further productivity improvements, without finding significant evidence for this. We conclude that high-productivity firms self-select themselves into export markets, while exporting itself does not play a significant role for productivity improvements. --Total Factor Productivity,Exports,Export-led growth,Heterogeneous firms

Gifted kids or pushy parents? Foreign acquisitions and plant performance in Indonesia

This paper uses micro data from the Indonesian Census of Manufacturing to analyze the causal relationship between foreign ownership and plant productivity. To control for the possible endogeneity of the FDI decision, the difference in differences approach is combined with a matching technique. An advantage of this novel method is the ability to follow the timing of the observed changes in productivity and other aspects of plant performance. The results suggest that foreign ownership leads to significant productivity improvements in the acquired plants. The improvements become visible in the acquisition year and continue in the subsequent periods. After three years, theacquired plants outperform the control group in terms of productivity by 34 percentage points. The data also suggest that the rise in productivity is a result of restructuring, as acquired plants increase their investment outlays, employment, and wages. Foreign ownership also appears to enhance the integration of plants into the global economy through increased exports and imports.Economic Theory&Research,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Environmental Economics&Policies,Foreign Direct Investment,Banks&Banking Reform

Services inputs and firm productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa : evidence from firm-level data

The authors investigate the relationship between the productivity of African manufacturing firms and their access to services inputs. They use data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey for over 1,000 firms in 10 Sub-Saharan African countries to calculate the total factor productivity of firms. The Enterprise Surveys also contain unique measures of firms'access to communications, electricity, and financial services. The availability of these measures at the firm level, both as subjective and objective indicators, allows the authors to exploit the variation in services performance at the subnational regional level. Furthermore, by using the regional variation in services performance, they are also able to address concerns about the possible endogeneity of the services variables. The results show a significant and positive relationship between firm productivity and service performance in all three services sectors analyzed. The authors thus provide support for the argument that improvements in services industries contribute to enhancing the performance of downstream economic activities, and thus are an essential element of a strategy for promoting growth and reducing poverty.Economic Theory&Research,Education for the Knowledge Economy,Rural Communications,Commodities,Urban Economics

Cognitive and affective determinants of entrepreneurial decisions experimentally examined

Objectives. Our study investigates the role of emotions and cognitions in the pre-entrepreneurial decision-making process, i.e., the process prior to the decision to exploit an entrepreneurial opportunity, which has only looked at by few researchers so far. Methods. An online questionnaire experiment with three different samples, i.e., employees, students, and entrepreneurs (N = 578) using 16 different experimentally manipulated entrepreneurial scenarios was conducted. Results. Findings indicate that the relationship between the characteristics of an entrepreneurial opportunity and the evaluation of it is mediated by cognitive appraisals. Moreover, negative and positive affects moderate the relationship between the evaluation of an entrepreneurial opportunity and the decision to exploit it. Conclusion. This study confirms the central assumption of cognitive appraisal theories of emotion which state that the subjective representation of objective entrepreneurial opportunities better predicts the decision to exploit an entrepreneurial opportunity than the objective characteristics of the entrepreneurial situation