Title: Learning-by-doing, learning-by-exporting, and productivity
Description: "The empirical evidence on whether participation in export markets increases plant-level productivity has been inconclusive so far.  The authors explain this inconclusiveness by drawing on Arrow's (1962) characterization of learning-by-doing, which suggests focusing on young plants and using measures of export experience rather than export participation.  They find strong evidence of learning-by-exporting for young Colombian manufacturing plants between 1981 and 1991: total factor productivity increases 4-5 percent for each additional year a plant has exported, after controlling for the effect of current exports on total factor productivity.  Learning-by-exporting is more important for young than for old plants and in industries that deliver a larger percentage of their exports to high-income countries. "--World Bank web site.
Subjects: Exports, Industrial productivity
Places: Colombia