Is learning by exporting technology specific? Evidence from Chinese firms

Fang Wang, Zhaoyuan Xu and Xiaoyong Dai

Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 2023, vol. 32, issue 2, 275-304

Abstract: Integrating the theory of heterogeneous firm and trade with the neo-Schumpeterian view, this paper examines whether learning-by-exporting processes in Chinese firms are technology specific. Using a combination of propensity score matching and difference-in-differences estimation, we find weak evidence that exports generate higher productivity and growth for Chinese firms. This learning effect is subject to the nature of technology across industries: learning-by-exporting processes favor sectors characterized by high levels of appropriability and technological opportunity, while they are hindered in sectors featuring a wider knowledge base and higher cumulativeness. This technology-specific nature of learning effects leads to discrepant post-export gains in productivity across different sectors as well as economies.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1080/10438599.2021.1910031

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