Learning-by-Exporting or Managerial Quality? Evidence from the Czech Republic

This paper employs fi rm-level panel data from the Czech Republic to investigate the empirical relevance of the learning-by-exporting hypothesis. To provide convincing estimates, one must be able to disentangle learning-by-exporting from changes in company management that induce the company to both start exporting and introduce productivity increasing measures. Therefore, I compare estimates, which do not control for potential management changes, to estimates based on an instrumental variables strategy. Specifically, I focus on fi rms that start exporting due to changes in the industry-specific exchange rate and industry-specific ratio of producer prices on domestic and foreign markets. The results suggest that different kinds of productivity enhancements can be attributed to learning-by-exporting on one side and managerial effects on the other side.