Export Entry and Exit by German Firms

Andrew Bernard and Joachim Wagner (institut_vwl@leuphana.de)

No 6538, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper examines the decision to enter the export market by German firms. While exports have played an important role in recent German business cycle movements, little is known about the export supply response of German firms. This paper presents a dynamic model of the export decision by a profit-maximizing firm. Using a panel of German manufacturing plants, we test for the role of plant characteristics and sunk costs in the entry decision. We find evidence for substantial sunk costs in export entry; exporting today by a plant increases the probability that the plant will export tomorrow by 50%. This advantage depreciates quickly, falling by two thirds in a year. We also find evidence that plant success, as measured by size and productivity, increases the likelihood of exporting.

JEL-codes: D21 F20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1998-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mic and nep-pbe
Note: ITI
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (52)

Published as Andrew Bernard & Joachim Wagner, 2001. "Export entry and exit by German firms," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 105-123, March.

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