Banking crises and exports : lessons from the past

This paper analyzes the impact of banking crises on manufacturing exports exploiting the fact that sectors differ in their needs for external financing. Relying on data from 23 banking crises episodes involving both developed and developing countries during the period 1980-2000 the authors separate the impact of banking crises on export growth from that of other exogenous shocks (i.e. demand shocks). Their findings show that during a crisis the export of sectors more dependent on external finance grow significantly less than other sectors. However, this result holds only for sectors depending more heavily on banking finance as opposed to inter-firm finance. Furthermore, sectors characterized by higher degree of assets tangibility appear to be more resilient in the face of a banking crisis. The effect of the banking crises on exports is robust and additional to external demand shocks. The effect of the latter is independent and additional to that of a banking shock, and is particularly significant for sectors producing durable goods.Debt Markets,Economic Theory&Research,Access to Finance,Banks&Banking Reform,Emerging Markets

Gender and finance in Sub-Saharan Africa : are women disadvantaged ?

This paper assesses whether there is a gender gap in the use of financial services by businesses and individuals in Sub-Saharan Africa. The authors do not find evidence of gender discrimination or lower inherent demand for financial services by enterprises with female ownership participation or by female individuals when key characteristics of the enterprises or individuals are taken into account. In the case of enterprises, they explain this finding with selection bias -- females are less likely to run sole proprietorships than men, and firms with female ownership participation are smaller, but more likely to innovate. In the case of individuals, the lower use of formal financial services by women can be explained by gender gaps in other dimensions related to the use of financial services, such as their lower level of income and education, and by their household and employment status.Access to Finance,Banks&Banking Reform,Emerging Markets,Housing&Human Habitats,Gender and Law

Economic performance under NAFTA : a firm-level analysis of the trade-productivity linkages

Did the North American Free Trade Agreement make Mexican firms more productive? If so, through which channels? This paper addresses these questions by deploying an innovative microeconometric approach that disentangles the various channels through which integration with the global markets (via international trade) can affect firm-level productivity. The results show that the North American Free Trade Agreement stimulated the productivity of Mexican plants via: (1) an increase in import competition and (2) a positive effect on access to imported intermediate inputs. However, the impact of trade reforms was not identical for all integrated firms, with fully integrated firms (i.e. firms simultaneously exporting and importing) benefiting more than other integrated firms. Contrary to previous results, once self-selection problems are solved, the analysis finds a rather weak relationship between exports and productivity growth.Economic Theory&Research,Free Trade,Labor Policies,Knowledge for Development,Microfinance

Trade as an Engine of Creative Destruction: Mexican Experience with Chinese Competition

This paper exploits the surge in Chinese exports from 1994 to 2004 as a natural experiment to evaluate the effects of a unilateral low wage trade and competition shock to producers in Mexico. We find that this shock causes selection at both firm and product levels as its impact is highly heterogeneous both on the intensive and extensive margins. Sales of smaller plants and more marginal products are compressed and are more likely to cease, while larger plants and products exhibit an opposite response. Similar results hold both for the domestic market and for competition facing Mexican exporters in a third market (i.e. the United States).China, Mexico, multi-product-firm, trade shock

Trade as an Engine of Creative Destruction Mexico experience with Chinese competition

This paper exploits the surge in Chinese exports from 1994 to 2004 as a natural experiment to evaluate the effects of a unilateral low wage trade and competition shock to producers in Mexico. We find that this shock causes selection at both firm and product levels as its impact is highly heterogeneous both on the intensive and extensive margins. Sales of smaller plants and more marginal products are compressed and are more likely to cease, while larger plants and products exhibit an opposite response. Similar results hold both for the domestic market and for competition facing Mexican exporters in a third market (i.e. the United States).China, Mexico, multi-product-firm, trade shock

The DR-CAFTA and the extensive margin : a firm-level analysis

This paperexamines the export behavior of Dominican Republic exporters following the implementation of the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement in 2007. Using a firm-level dataset for 2002-2009, the authors investigate the effects of a tariff reduction on the extensive margin. The analysis distinguishes the impact on the entry of new firms, exports of new products, and entry into the Agreement’s markets. The paper analyzes whether the agreement prevents incumbent exporters from exiting the market. The results suggest that tariff cuts had a positive although very small effect on the extensive margin. A decline in tariffs also seems to reduce the probability of exit, but the effect is also small. The evidence calls for complementary policies aiming at helping exporters maximize the benefits of the agreement.Free Trade,Markets and Market Access,Debt Markets,Export Competitiveness,Trade Policy

Success and failure of African exporters

Using a novel dataset with transactions level exports data from four African countries (Malawi, Mali, Senegal and Tanzania), this paper uncovers evidence of a high degree of experimentation at the extensive margin associated with low survival rates, consistent with high and middle income country evidence. Consequently, the authors focus on the questions of what determines success and survival beyond the first year and find that survival probability rises with the number of firms exporting the same product to the same destination from the same country, pointing towards the existence of cross-firm synergies. Accordingly the evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that those synergies may be driven by information spillovers. More intuitively and consistently with multi-product firms models, the analysis also finds that firms more diversified in terms of products, but even more in terms of markets, are more likely to be successful and survive beyond the first year.Markets and Market Access,Microfinance,Economic Theory&Research,Debt Markets,E-Business

Success and Failure of African Exporters

Using a novel dataset with transactions level exports data from four African countries (Malawi, Mali, Senegal and Tanzania), this paper uncovers evidence of a high degree of experimentation at the extensive margin associated with low survival rates, consistent with high and middle income country evidence. Consequently, the authors focus on the questions of what determines success and survival beyond the first year and find that survival probability rises with the number of firms exporting the same product to the same destination from the same country, pointing towards the existence of crossfirm synergies. Accordingly the evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that those synergies may be driven by information spillovers. More intuitively and consistently with multi-product firms models, the analysis also finds that firms more diversified in terms of products, but even more in terms of markets, are more likely to be successful and survive beyond the first year.Africa, export survival

Trade as an engine of creative destruction: Mexican experience with Chinese competition

This paper exploits the surge in Chinese exports from 1994 to 2004 as a natural experiment to evaluate the effects of a unilateral low wage trade and competition shock to producers in Mexico. We find that this shock causes selection at both firm and product levels as its impact is highly heterogeneous both on the intensive and extensive margins. Sales of smaller plants and more marginal products are compressed and are more likely to cease, while larger plants and products exhibit an opposite response. Similar results hold both for the domestic market and for competition facing Mexican exporters in a third market (i.e. the United States)

Success and failure of African exporters

Using a novel dataset with transactions level exports data from four African countries (Malawi, Mali, Senegal and Tanzania), this paper uncovers evidence of a high degree of experimentation at the extensive margin associated with low survival rates, consistent with high and middle income country evidence. Consequently, the authors focus on the questions of what determines success and survival beyond the first year and find that survival probability rises with the number of firms exporting the same product to the same destination from the same country, pointing towards the existence of crossfirm synergies. Accordingly the evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that those synergies may be driven by information spillovers. More intuitively and consistently with multi-product firms models, the analysis also finds that firms more diversified in terms of products, but even more in terms of markets, are more likely to be successful and survive beyond the first year