Innovation and Export Performance: Firm-Level Evidence from Developing, Emerging, and Advanced Economies

Aekkapat Laksanacom and Rapeepat Manasoontorn
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Aekkapat Laksanacom: Kasetsart University, Thailand
Rapeepat Manasoontorn: Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin, Thailand

Journal of Economic Development, 2025, vol. 50, issue 4, 131-150

Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between firm-level innovation and export performance across different stages of economic development. Data from 10,000 firms in the 2023 World Bank Enterprise Survey are used to analyze the effects of product innovation, process innovation, and research and development (R&D) activities on export intensity. A fractional probit model is employed to account for the bounded nature of export shares. Results show that capital intensity and R&D are positively associated with export propensity, while product innovation exhibits a negative short-run effect, particularly among smaller firms. No significant effect is found for process innovation. Export behavior varies across income groups, with firms in high-income countries displaying higher export intensity than those in low- and middle-income economies. These findings highlight the conditional role of innovation in promoting export activity and suggest the importance of targeted policies to enhance innovation capacity and export readiness in developing economies.

Keywords: Export Performance; Firm Innovation; Innovation Policy; Fractional Probit Model; World Bank Enterprise Survey (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C25 F14 L25 O31 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:jecdev:022002

DOI: 10.35866/caujed.2024.50.4.006

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