Italy ranked last in terms of manufacturing productivity growth according to OECD estimates over the last decade with a flat, if not declining, trend. In this work we investigate the underlying firm-level dynamics of enterprises on the grounds of a database developed by the Italian Statistical...

Using firm level data this study investigates the relation between export activity and firm's profitability. The paper shows that, contrary to other performance indicators such as productivity, exporting activity is not systematically associated to higher firm's profitability. This is shown both...

Previous research shows that both exporting and the use of advanced technologies independently enhance the performance of U.S. manufacturing plants in a variety of ways. The research presented below shows that plants that both export and use advanced technology outperform other plants in a...

While Germany has a very open, export-oriented manufacturing sector, to date there has been little or no research on the role of exporting in German firm performance. This paper documents the significant differences between exporters and non-exporters and attemps to identify the sources of these...

The liberalization of trade in Textiles and Clothing (T&C) had substantial adverse effects on the Greek T&C industry. The elimination of export quotas affected production levels, exports, prices and employment in the sector. Using past research results we explore how the MultiFiber Agreement...

This paper examines the relationship between the credit constraints faced by a firm and the unit value prices of its exports. The paper modifies Arkolakis’s (2010) model of trade with heterogeneous firms by introducing endogenous quality and credit constraints. The model predicts that tighter...

Italy’s manufacturing performance in the last decade was the worst of all the other major OECD countries. The study investigates the micro-dynamics underlying the aggregate trend. While labor productivity in most manufacturing sectors has remained almost flat, distribution support has widened....

This paper looks at the interaction between two firms based in different countries, each which faces the export v MNE choice concerning the servicing of the other's home market. Firms also have a choice over investment in a new technology which allows a corporate wide reduction in variable costs...

The accession of Poland to the Euro Zone is a necessary, strategic condition, causing far-reaching consequences for the economy as a whole, but also for individual market participants. The purpose of this article is to show the nature of the commercial activity of small and medium size...