Exporter and Non-Exporter Productivity Differentials: Evidence from Australian Manufacturing Establishments.

We study the link between exporting and productivity using unpublished establishment level data of the Australian manufacturing from 1994 to 2000. We find there is significant difference in the first moment as well as the whole distribution of productivity between exporters and non-exporters. At the mean level, the average productivity differentials between Australian exporters and non-exporters are comparable to that of, for examples, the United States, Germany, or Taiwan. More importantly, as also found in almost all other countries, we find that the bigger and more productive firms appear to self-select into the export market. In addition, we also find that a higher intensity and longer period of export market exposure is associated with a higher level of productivity, indicating a possible learning-by-exporting effect. JEL Classification: D21; F21