Learning from exporting revisited in a less developed setting

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2004.06.004
• Publication Date: 2004-10-12T16:09:02Z
• Authors: Garrick Blalock; Paul J. Gertler
• Keywords: 8. Economic growth; 0502 economics and business; 05 social sciences

Abstract This study asks if firms become more productive by learning through exporting. We do so by estimating production functions using a panel dataset of Indonesian manufacturing establishments from 1990 to 1996. In contrast to previous studies of more developed countries, we find strong evidence that firms experience a jump in productivity of about 2% to 5% following the initiation of exporting. The timing of the performance improvement suggests learning from exporting rather than just self-selection of better firms into export markets.