Konferenzbeitrag

Import Competition and Firm Productivity: Evidence from German Manufacturing

This study analyzes empirically the effects of import competition on firm productivity (TFPQ) using administrative firm-level panel data from German manufacturing. We find that only import competition from high-income countries is associated with positive incentives for firms to invest in productivity improvement, whereas import competition from middle- and low-income countries is not. To rationalize these findings, we further look at the characteristics of imports from the two types of countries and the effects on R&D, employment and sales. We provide evidence that imports from high-income countries are relatively capital-intensive and technologically more sophisticated goods, at which German firms tend to be relatively good. Costly investment in productivity appears feasible reaction to such type of competition and we find no evidence for downscaling. Imports from middle- and low-wage countries are relatively labor-intensive and technologically less sophisticated goods, at which German firms tend to generally be at disadvantage. In this case, there are no incentives to invest in innovation and productivity and firms tend to decline in sales and employment.

Sprache
Englisch

Erschienen in
Series: Beiträge zur Jahrestagung des Vereins für Socialpolitik 2020: Gender Economics

Klassifikation
Wirtschaft
Empirical Studies of Trade
Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope
Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
Economic Impacts of Globalization: Microeconomic Impacts
Thema
productivity
multi-product firms
import competition

Ereignis
Geistige Schöpfung
(wer)
Slavtchev, Viktor
Bräuer, Richard
Mertens, Matthias
Ereignis
Veröffentlichung
(wer)
ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics
(wo)
Kiel, Hamburg
(wann)
2020

Handle
Letzte Aktualisierung
10.03.2025, 11:42 MEZ

Datenpartner

Dieses Objekt wird bereitgestellt von:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. Bei Fragen zum Objekt wenden Sie sich bitte an den Datenpartner.

Objekttyp

  • Konferenzbeitrag

Beteiligte

  • Slavtchev, Viktor
  • Bräuer, Richard
  • Mertens, Matthias
  • ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics

Entstanden

  • 2020

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