Poncet, SandraStarosta de Waldemar, Felipe2014-02-042014-02-042013-10https://hdl.handle.net/10986/16891This paper proposes the first evaluation using micro-level data of the gains from the consistency of activities with a local comparative advantage. Using firm-level data from Chinese customs over the 2000-6 period, the study investigates the relationship between the export performance of firms and how their products relate to local comparative advantage. The key indicator measures the density of the links between a product and the local product space. Hence, it combines information on the intrinsic relatedness of a good with information on the local pattern of specialization. The results indicate that exports grow faster for goods that have denser links with those currently produced in the firm's locality. The density of links between products seems to yield export-enhancing spillovers. However, this positive effect of product relatedness on export performance is mainly limited to ordinary trade activities and domestic firms. It is also stronger for more productive firms, suggesting that spillover diffusion may be hindered by insufficient absorptive capacity.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOABSORPTIVE CAPACITYAGGREGATE EXPORTSAPPARELASSEMBLYAUTONOMYBENCHMARKBILATERAL TRADEBORDER TRADECAPACITY BUILDINGCAPACITY OF FIRMSCDCOMPARATIVE ADVANTAGECOMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE INDEXCOMPARATIVE ADVANTAGESCOMPETITIVENESSCONSTRUCTIONDEPENDENT VARIABLEDEVELOPED COUNTRIESDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPMENT ECONOMICSDEVELOPMENT POLICYDEVELOPMENT STRATEGIESDOWNWARD BIASECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC PERFORMANCEECONOMIC POLICYECONOMIC RESEARCHECONOMIC REVIEWECONOMIC STUDIESECONOMIES OF SCALEECONOMIES OF SCOPEELASTICITYEMPIRICAL LITERATUREEMPIRICAL RESULTSEXPLANATORY VARIABLESEXPORTEXPORT DIVERSIFICATIONEXPORT DYNAMICSEXPORT GROWTHEXPORT INTENSITYEXPORT MARKETSEXPORT PERFORMANCEEXPORT PROCESSINGEXPORT PROCESSING ZONESEXPORT SHAREEXPORT SHARESEXPORT STRUCTUREEXPORT VALUEEXPORTERSEXPORTSEXTERNALITIESFOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTFOREIGN FIRMSFOREIGN INVESTMENTFOREIGN INVESTORSFOREIGN TECHNOLOGYFUELGDPGLOBAL ECONOMYGROWTH ELASTICITYGROWTH RATEHETEROSKEDASTICITYINCOMEINDIVIDUAL COUNTRIESINDUSTRIAL POLICYINTERNATIONAL TRADEKNOWLEDGE SPILLOVERSLOCAL AUTHORITIESMERCHANDISENATURAL ENDOWMENTSNEGATIVE COEFFICIENTPATTERN OF SPECIALIZATIONPOLICY DISCUSSIONSPOLICY PERSPECTIVEPOLICY RESEARCHPOLITICAL ECONOMYPOSITIVE CORRELATIONPOSITIVE EFFECTPOSITIVE IMPACTPRODUCTIVITYPRODUCTIVITY GROWTHREFERENCERELATIVE DEMANDRELATIVE SUPPLYRIGHT-HAND SIDESALESSIGNIFICANT EFFECTSIGNIFICANT NEGATIVESKILLED WORKERSSTRUCTURAL CHANGESUBSTITUTETECHNOLOGY TRANSFERTRADE COMPETITIVENESSTRADE DATATRADE DEFICITTRADE FLOWSTRADE LIBERALIZATIONTRADE REGIMEUPPERWORLD TRADEWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-6676