Person:
Pierola Castro, Martha Denisse
Author Name Variants
Fields of Specialization
International economics,
Export development,
Firm-level analysis of trade
Degrees
External Links
Departments
Trade and Integration Team, Development Research Group, The World Bank
Externally Hosted Work
Contact Information
Last updated
January 31, 2023
Biography
Martha Denisse Pierola is an Economist in the Trade and International Integration Unit of the Development Research Group of the World Bank. She has published several papers on export growth and exporter dynamics and co-created the Exporter Dynamics Database –the first-ever global database on exporter growth and dynamics, based on firm-level export data. Her research studies the role of large exporters in driving trade patterns and export growth; and examines how exporter behavior varies with the stage of development. She was the leader of the team conducting the World Bank study on trade, competitiveness and regional integration in Zimbabwe. She has worked on issues related to regionalism, trade costs and trade and productivity. Before joining the World Bank, she worked as an economist for the Peruvian Government (INDECOPI) and also consulted for the private sector and other international organizations. She has a PhD in economics from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland and a Master of International Law and Economics from the World Trade Institute in Bern, Switzerland.
Publication Search Results
1 - 2 of 2
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Publication
Export Surges : The Power of a Competitive Currency
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-10)How can countries stimulate and sustain strong export growth? To answer this question, the authors examine 92 episodes of export surges, defined as significant increases in manufacturing export growth that are sustained for at least seven years. They find that export surges in developing countries tend to be preceded by a large real depreciation-which leaves the exchange rate significantly undervalued-and a reduction in exchange rate volatility. In contrast, in developed countries, the role of the exchange rate is less pronounced. The authors examine why the exchange rate is so important in developing countries and find that the depreciation leads to a significant reallocation of resources in the export sector. In particular, depreciation generates more entries into new export products and new markets, and the percentage of new entries that fail after one year declines. These new products and new markets are important, accounting for 25 percent of export growth during the surge in developing countries. The authors argue that maintaining a competitive currency leads firms to expand the product and market space for exports, inducing a large reorientation of the tradable sector. -
Publication
Patterns of Export Diversification in Developing Countries : Intensive and Extensive Margins
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-01)This paper uses highly disaggregated trade data to investigate geographic and product diversification patterns across a group of developing nations for the period from 1990 to 2005. The econometric investigation shows that the gravity equation fits the observed differences in diversification across nations. The analysis shows that exports at the intensive margin account for the most important share of overall trade growth. At the extensive margin, geographic diversification is more important than product diversification, especially for developing countries. Taking part in free trade agreements, thereby reducing trade costs, and trading with countries in the North are also found to have positive impacts on export diversification for developing countries.