Unobserved firm heterogeneity and the size-exports nexus : evidence from German panel data

This paper starts from the stylized fact that firm size and exporting tends to be positively related. Using large sets of establishment panel data for three different industries from official statistics evidence is presented that the familiar picture of an export/sales ratio that ceteris paribus increases (at a decreasing rate) with firm size vanishes if unobserved firm heterogeneity is controlled for in a fixed effects fractional logit regression model. This finding is well in line with the fact that many small firms are 'hidden export champions'.