Import Penetration, Intermediate Inputs and Productivity: Evidence from Italian Firms

We test the impact of import penetration on the productivity of a sample of roughly 35,000 Italian manufacturing firms operating in the period 1996-2003, considering the impact on productivity of both import penetration in the same industry and import penetration in the up-stream industries. We find that import penetration has a positive effect on productivity, but the effects are three times as large for import penetration in up-stream industries. Trade-related variables do not account however for the bulk of variation in individual firms' TFP.