Importing and Firm Productivity in Ethiopian Manufacturing

• Tác giả: Kaleb Girma Abreha
• Ngôn ngữ: eng
• Ký hiệu phân loại: 338.65 Factory system
• Thông tin xuất bản: Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank, 2021
• Bộ sưu tập: Tài liệu truy cập mở
• ID: 318892
• Chủ đề: 1. ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY; 2. IMPORTED INPUTS; 3. IMPORTS; 4. LEARNING-BY-IMPORTING; 5. SELF-SELECTION

Tóm tắt

This paper investigates the causal relationship between importing and firm productivity. Using a rich dataset from Ethiopian manufacturing over the period 1996-2011, I find that most firms rely on production inputs from the world market. These firms are better performing as shown by significant, economically large import premia. I also find strong evidence of self-selection of more productive firms into importing which is indicative of sizable import market entry costs. To examine the causal effect of importing on firm productivity, I use a model in which the static and dynamic effects of importing are separately estimated. The estimation results provide support to learning-by-importing. However, the productivity gains are small in size compared to similar findings in other studies. I provide some evidence in support of firms' limited absorptive capacity in explaining the small productivity gains.