Publication: Learning to Export : Evidence from Moroccan Manufacturing
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Date
2008
ISSN
09638024
Published
2008
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This paper tests two alternative models of selection into export: lower costs and better market familiarity. Both are potentially subject to learning-by-doing, but differ in the type of experience required. Learning to produce at lower cost--what we call productivity learning--depends on general experience, while learning to design products that appeal to foreign consumers--market learning--depends on export experience. Using panel and cross-section data on Moroccan manufacturers, we uncover evidence of market learning but little is evidence that productivity learning is what enables firms to export. These findings are consistent with the concentration of Moroccan manufacturing exports in consumer items, i.e., the garment, textile, and leather sectors. It is the young firms that export. Most do so immediately after creation. We 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, which is indicative of some learning. Old firms are unlikely to switch to exports, even in response to changes in macro incentives.
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Publication Learning to Export : Evidence from Moroccan Manufacturing(World Bank, Washington D.C., 2002-04)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.Publication Beyond Tariffs and Quotas: Why Do African Manufacturers Not Export More?(2009)Africa's export performance has been extremely poor in recent years. Its share of world exports has declined and most countries are highly dependent on a narrow range of primary commodities for export earnings. This paper looks at factors that affect the export performance of manufacturing enterprises in eight African countries. In addition to enterprise characteristics (e.g., size, ownership, and education of the manager), policy-related variables also affect exporting. Manufacturing enterprises are less likely to export in countries with restrictive trade and customs regulations and poor customs administration.Publication Economic Geography and Manufacturing Productivity in Africa : An Analysis of Firm Level Data(2009-04)We compare samples of textiles and garments producers across groups of countries to find that, in general, productivity is far lower in Sub-Saharan Africa than it is in India. Indian manufacturers in turn are significantly less productive than their counterparts in Morocco, while producers in some SSA countries do match or exceed the Indian standard. The paper assesses the importance of geography as a possible factor in these gaps compared to such possible causes as trade policy and the quality of public institutions. It turns out that both institutions and trade policy are strong influences on country productivity averages. However, geography is also as powerful an influence in as far as it affects access to export markets and to input supplies.Publication Impacts of the Rise of China on Developing Country Trade : Evidence from North Africa(2010)Despite the global financial and economic crisis, China has continued to experience strong export-driven growth and, indeed, became the world's largest exporting country in 2009. This rise of China in international markets presents African countries with growing competition in their home and export markets, but also with new opportunities. This paper focuses on the impacts of these developments on countries in North Africa, which are directly affected by the prominence of Chinese manufacturing. In particular, the analysis addresses two policy questions: first, is competition from China leading to substantial displacement of resources that incur significant adjustment costs while moving to new activities, or are there opportunities to exploit finer patterns of specialization that entail less disruption; and second, will policies that mitigate the impact of competition from China limit the longer-term capacity to exploit new opportunities in the global market? The findings from the empirical analysis suggest that policy makers can support North African producers in the increasingly fierce competition with China by reviewing the regulatory and incentives environment, reducing trade logistics costs, and broadening trade promotion efforts to non-traditional markets.Publication Wage Gaps and Job Sorting in African Manufacturing(2009)Using matched employer-employee data from eleven African countries, we investigate if there is job sorting in African labour markets. We find that much of the wage gap associated with education is driven by selection across occupations and firms. This is consistent with educated workers being more effective at complex tasks such as labour management. In all countries, the education wage gap widens rapidly at high levels of education. Most of the education wage gap at low levels of education can be explained by selection across occupations. We also find that the education wage gap tends to be higher for women, except in Morocco where many poorly educated women work in the garment sector. A large share of the gender wage gap is explained by selection into low wage occupations and firms.
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