Learning to Export : Evidence from Moroccan Manufacturing

Learning to Export : Evidence from Moroccan Manufacturing

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The authors test two alternative models of learning to export: productivity learning, whereby firms learn to reduce production cost, and, market learning, whereby firms learn to design products that appeal to foreign consumers. Using panel, and cross-section data on Moroccan manufacturers, the authors uncover evidence of market learning, but little evidence of productivity learning. These findings are consistent with the concentration of Moroccan manufacturing exports in consumer items - the garment, textile, and leather sectors. It is the young firms that export. Most do so immediately after creation. The authors also find that, among exporters, new products are exported very rapidly after production has begun. The share of exported output nevertheless, increases for 2-3 years after a new product is introduced. Old firms are unlikely to switch to exports, even in response to changes in macroeconomic incentives. The authors find a positive relationship between exports, and productivity, and conclude that it is the result of self-selection: it is the more productive firms that move into exports. Policy implications are discussed.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fafchamps, Marcel, El Hamine, Said, Zeufack, Albert
Format: Policy Research Working Paper biblioteca
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington D.C. 2002-04
Subjects:MANUFACTURING DEVELOPMENT, MANUFACTURED EXPORTS, MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES, EXPORT COMPETITIVENESS, PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH, PRODUCTION COSTS, MARKET ANALYSIS, FOREIGN ENTERPRISES, CONSUMER DEMAND, MARKET POTENTIAL, TEXTILES, LEATHER GOODS, MACROECONOMIC POLICY, EXPORT INCENTIVES, POLICY FRAMEWORK COMMERCE, COMPETITIVENESS, CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK, CONSUMERS, COST EFFECTIVENESS, DOMESTIC MARKET, DOMESTIC MARKETS, ECONOMIES OF SCOPE, ELASTICITY, ELASTICITY OF SUBSTITUTION, EMPLOYMENT, EXCHANGE RATE, EXPORT, EXPORT MARKETS, EXPORTS, EXTERNALITIES, FIXED COSTS, FOREIGN COMPETITION, FUTURE RESEARCH, IMPORTS, INFANT INDUSTRY ARGUMENT, INTERNATIONAL MARKETS, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, LABOR FORCE, LABOR PRODUCTIVITY, MACROECONOMICS, MARKET CONDITIONS, MARKETING, MINES, PRODUCERS, PRODUCTION FUNCTION, PRODUCTIVITY, PRODUCTIVITY INCREASES, QUOTAS, RANGE, RETURNS TO SCALE, ROUTE, SALES, SPREAD, SUNK COSTS, SWITCH, TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY, TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH, TOTAL SALES, TRADE LIBERALIZATION, TRANSACTION COSTS, UPPER,
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2002/04/1765897/learning-export-evidence-moroccan-manufacturing
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13995
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Summary:The authors test two alternative models of learning to export: productivity learning, whereby firms learn to reduce production cost, and, market learning, whereby firms learn to design products that appeal to foreign consumers. Using panel, and cross-section data on Moroccan manufacturers, the authors uncover evidence of market learning, but little evidence of productivity learning. These findings are consistent with the concentration of Moroccan manufacturing exports in consumer items - the garment, textile, and leather sectors. It is the young firms that export. Most do so immediately after creation. The authors also find that, among exporters, new products are exported very rapidly after production has begun. The share of exported output nevertheless, increases for 2-3 years after a new product is introduced. Old firms are unlikely to switch to exports, even in response to changes in macroeconomic incentives. The authors find a positive relationship between exports, and productivity, and conclude that it is the result of self-selection: it is the more productive firms that move into exports. Policy implications are discussed.

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