High-End Variety Exporters Defying Distance: Micro Facts and Macroeconomic Implications

Julien Martin and Florian Mayneris

No 2013027, LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES from Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)

Abstract: We develop a new methodology to identify high-end variety exporters in French firm-level data. We show that they do not export to many more countries, but they export to more distant ones. This comes with a greater geographic diversification of their aggregate exports. These facts are explained by a lower sensitivity to distance of high-end variety export(er)s. We also show that high-end export(er)s are more sensitive to the average income of the destination country. Because of this different sensitivity to gravity variables, the within-product specialization of a country in the production of high-end varieties is likely to affect its export growth and volatility. We show that a higher sensitivity to per capita income tends to increase the volatility of high-end variety exports. However, a lower sensitivity to distance reduces volatility through a greater geographic diversification. Furthermore, we point out that a lower sensitivity to distance allows high-end varieties to benefit more from growth in more distant markets.

Keywords: Gravity; Distance; Firm-level data; Growth; Volatility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F14 F43 L15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 38
Date: 2013-10-31
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo and nep-int
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (20)

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Working Paper: High-end variety exporters defying distance: micro facts and macroeconomic implications (2013)
Working Paper: High-End Variety Exporters Defying Distance: Micro Facts and Macroeconomic Implications (2013)
Working Paper: High-End Variety Exporters Defying Distance: Micro Facts and Macroeconomic Implications (2013)
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