Exports as an Indicator on or Promoter of Successful Swedish Manufacturing Firms in the 1990s

Abstract

We study the link between exporting and productivity at the firm level. Like in previous studies we get support for that more productive firms self-select into the export market. In addition, and contrary to many of the former studies, we also obtain evidence for that exporting further increases firm productivity. Exporting firms appear to have significantly higher productivity than non-exporting. Moreover, exporters - mainly firms that increase their export intensities - have higher output growth than non-exporters. Reallocation of resources between firms may then have contributed to overall manufacturing productivity growth. Hence, we try to quantify the importance of reallocation.Exports; productivity; reallocation; decomposition