This study presents the first empirical test with German establishment level data of a hypothesis derived by Helpman et al. (2004) in a model that explains the decision of heterogeneous firms to serve foreign markets either through exports of foreign direct investment: only the more productive...

The positive relationship between firm size and direct export is often considered as a stylized fact. Numerous econometric investigations back theoretical considerations by showing that a ceteris paribus positive relationship between firm size and direct export activities exists. This note...

This paper uses a large plant level panel data set from Germany and a matching approach to look for casual effects of starting to export on plant performance. We find positive effects on growth of employment, labor productivity, and wages.