Export Destination and Firm Upgrading: Evidence from Spain

Akin A. Cilekoglu ()
Additional contact information
Akin A. Cilekoglu: University of Barcelona

No 202303, AQR Working Papers from University of Barcelona, Regional Quantitative Analysis Group

Abstract: This paper examines the role of export destinations on firm upgrading. I exploit the real effective exchange rate devaluation in Spain during the Great Recession to identify the unusual export performance of manufacturing firms. Using directly observable measures of firm upgrading, I find that increased share of exports to low-income destinations in sales reduced productivity and upgrading efforts of firms. However, real effective exchange rate devaluation did not affect the share of exports to high-income destinations in sales as well as productivity and upgrading efforts. The results are consistent with the quality sorting hypothesis that suggests a positive relationship between firm productivity and product quality. The findings in this paper emphasize that export market destination is an important determinant in analysing the gains from exporting.

Keywords: Exports; Firm upgrading; Market destination; Exchange rate. JEL classification: D22; F14; O14; F31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2023-05, Revised 2023-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec and nep-int
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.ub.edu/irea/working_papers/2023/202306.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aqr:wpaper:202303

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in AQR Working Papers from University of Barcelona, Regional Quantitative Analysis Group Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Bibiana Barnadas ().