Domestic Constraints, Firm Characteristics, and Geographical Diversification of Firm-Level Manufacturing Exports in Africa

Using firm-level data on manufacturing sectors in Africa, this paper addresses how domestic supply constraints and other firm characteristics explain the geographical orientation of firms' exports and the overall market diversification of African manufacturing exports. The degree of market diversification, measured by the number of export destinations, is highly correlated with export intensity at the firm level, and both embody strong scale effects. Technological factors, such as new vintage capital and Internet access, which improve production efficiency and lower export costs, show strong effects on the firm-level export intensity. Some qualitative differences exist between Africa's regional exports and exports to the global markets. Foreign ownership is a significant factor in characterizing the intensity of global exports but not regional exports. The technological factors are significant in both cases, but more so in global exports. Public infrastructure constraints, such as inferior power services and customs delays, seem to have more immediate impacts on regional exports in general, implying the relevance of addressing behind-the-border constraints in fostering regional integration in Africa. Customs efficiency does matter for textile exports to the global markets, underscoring the importance of improving trade facilitation in Africa for competitive participation of African producers in global supply chain industries.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Yoshino, Yutaka
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2008-03
Subjects:	ACCESS TO INFORMATION, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS, APPAREL, APPAREL EXPORTS, APPAREL PRODUCTS, BANK POLICY, BILATERAL TRADE, BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS ENVIRONMENTS, CAPITAL INCREASE, CAPITAL STOCK, COMMODITY PRICES, COMPANY, COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE, COMPETITIVENESS, CONSUMER PRICE, CONSUMERS, CUSTOMS CLEARANCE, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPING COUNTRY, DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY, DIVERSIFICATION, DIVERSIFIED MARKETS, DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES, DOMESTIC MARKET, DOMESTIC MARKETS, ECONOMETRIC ANALYSES, ECONOMETRIC MODELS, ECONOMETRICS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC POLICY, ECONOMIC RESEARCH, ECONOMIC RESOURCES, ECONOMIC SURVEYS, ECONOMIES OF SCALE, ELASTICITY, ELASTICITY OF SUBSTITUTION, EMPLOYMENT, ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT, EQUIPMENT, EXCHANGE RATE, EXPENDITURE, EXPORT COMPETITIVENESS, EXPORT COSTS, EXPORT DIVERSIFICATION, EXPORT GROWTH, EXPORT INTENSITY, EXPORT MARKET, EXPORT MARKETS, EXPORT ORIENTATION, EXPORT PERFORMANCE, EXPORT PROCESSING, EXPORT PROCESSING ZONES, EXPORT RATIO, EXPORT STRUCTURE, EXPORTER, EXPORTERS, EXPORTS, EXTERNAL TRADE, FACTOR MARKETS, FACTOR PRICE, FIRM SIZE, FIRMS, FIXED COSTS, FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT, FOREIGN EXCHANGE, FOREIGN INVESTORS, FOREIGN MARKETS, FOREIGN OWNERSHIP, FOREIGN TECHNOLOGIES, FOREIGN TRADE, GDP, GLOBAL ECONOMY, GLOBAL EXPORTS, GLOBAL MARKET, GLOBAL MARKETS, GROWTH RATE, IMPACT OF TRADE, INCOME, INDUSTRY TRADE, INEFFICIENCY, INSTRUMENT, INTERNATIONAL BANK, INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, INVESTMENT CLIMATE, MANUFACTURERS, MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES, MARGINAL COST, MARGINAL EFFECTS, MARKET DIVERSIFICATION, MARKET ENTRY, MARKET ENTRY COSTS, MARKET ORIENTATION, MARKET SIZE, MARKET STRUCTURE, MARKET STRUCTURES, MARKETING, MICRO-DATA, MONOPOLISTIC COMPETITION, MULTINATIONAL, MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS, NETWORK EXTERNALITY, PARENT COMPANIES, POSITIVE COEFFICIENT, POSITIVE COEFFICIENTS, POSITIVE EFFECTS, PREFERENTIAL MARKET ACCESS, PREFERENTIAL TARIFF, PRICE INDEX, PRODUCER PRICE, PRODUCT QUALITY, PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY, PRODUCTIVITY, PROFIT MAXIMIZATION, REGIONAL INTEGRATION, REGIONAL TRADE, RETAILING, RETURN, SCALE EFFECT, SCALE EFFECTS, SHAREHOLDERS, SIZE OF FIRM, SIZE OF FIRMS, SPECIALIZATION, SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, SUNK COSTS, SUPPLIER, SUPPLY CHAIN, SUPPLY CHAINS, TAX, TAX EXEMPTION, TELEPHONE LINE, TOTAL REVENUE, TOTAL SALES, TRADE COSTS, TRADE FACILITATION, TRADE LOGISTICS, TRADE OPPORTUNITIES, TRADE PARTNERS, TRADE PATTERNS, TRADE POLICIES, TRADE PREFERENCES, TRADING, TRADING COST, TRADING COSTS, TURNOVER, UTILITY FUNCTION, UTILITY MAXIMIZATION, VALUE ADDED, WAGES, WESTERN EUROPE, WORLD TRADE, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, WTO,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/03/9123509/domestic-constraints-firm-characteristics-geographical-diversification-firm-level-manufacturing-exports-africa https://hdl.handle.net/10986/6505
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