We examine the impact of R&D and technology imports on firm performance in Taiwan's manufacturing industry in a policy context of industrial upgrading. To do so, we estimate a Translog production function on two panels (covering 1992-1995 and 1997-2003), using stochastic frontier estimation. We...

If the relation between investment and economic growth is well established in the macroeconomic literature, the existence of a similar link at the level of the firm has been challenged by empirical work. This paper investigates the channels linking investment and firm performance in the French...

In this paper, we analyze the impact of Chinese competition on manufacturing firms in El Salvador between 2005 and 2013 using manufacturing survey data and customs transaction data. We find that Chinese import competition in El Salvador has a negative effect on firms employment, total factor...

We examine effects of government-imposed employment targets on firm behavior. Theoretically, such policies create “polarization,“ causing low-productivity firms to exit the market while others temporarily distort their employment upward. Dynamically, firms are incentivized to improve...

This paper investigates a unique policy designed to maintain employment during the privatization of East German firms after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The policy required new owners of the firms to commit to employment targets, with penalties for non-compliance. Using a dynamic model, we...

This paper investigates a unique policy designed to maintain employment during the privatization of East German firms after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The policy required new owners of the firms to commit to employment targets, with penalties for non-compliance. Using a dynamic model, we...

We examine the link between trade liberalization and aggregate productivity, with a focus on improved market selection resulting from a reduction in trade barriers and in the dispersion of these barriers across producers. Our analysis exploits tariff changes across sectors after the Colombian...

We examine the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on local firms’ productivity via human capital transfer from multinational enterprises (MNEs) to local firms. Using the firm-level data for 2010–2015 from the Republic of Korea, we identify human capital spillovers using local firms’...

The appreciation of the real exchange rate over the past several years is considered one of the key drivers behind the weak performance of Colombia's manufacturing sector in recent years. This paper examines the effects of the real exchange rate, external and domestic demand, and structural...

The paper examines the impact of foreign-licensed technology and identifies channels to effectively leverage such technology to improve the performance of manufacturing firms in the Philippines. Using the fixed effects approach to World Bank Enterprise Survey panel data for the Philippines...