This note uses comparable representative data for manufacturing firms from five European countries (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) to investigate the links between firm age and the participation of the firms in export, the share of exports in total sales, the number of...

This paper presents a comprehensive description and analysis of the international trading activities of firms based on novel detailed Swedish data. As a small open economy with a limited domestic market, Sweden constitutes an interesting contrast to existing evidence. We show that much of the...

This paper investigates whether domestic firms’ productivity is an increasing function of imports from the most knowledge intensive economies in the world, i.e. the G7 countries. Using Swedish firm-level data, we confirm an instantaneous causality going from imports to productivity. We also...

Structural changes due to global integration certainly affect the employment, productivity and profitability of firms. An interesting case reflects how firms use imports to replace certain stages in production of physical goods. The relevant question here is: if imports make up a substantial...

Abstract: This study uses tailor made enterprise level data from various sources for firms from manufacturing industries to test for the link between credit constraints, measured by a credit rating score provided by a leading credit rating agency, and imports in Germany for the first time. We...

Research and Development (R&D) is a key component behind technological development and economic growth; therefore, understanding the drivers of R&D is crucial. An interesting question is the role of technology spillovers, transferred by trade, and their impact on firm R&D. Here we analyze not...