Productividad, innovación y exportaciones en la industria manufacturera chilena

This paper examines the relationship between exports, productivity, and technological innovation. It first analyzes the causality between the firms’ export behavior and productivity. Unlike other papers using a similar methodology, our results show no evidence of learning by exporting. In fact, although once the firms begin exporting total productivity increases by around 10 percent this increase is not statistically significant and does not prevail over time. This study also explores whether other forms of learning could be associated to the exporting process. Contrary to other analysis for developed economies, the results for Chile do not point to major gains from the exporters’ geographic and sectoral agglomeration. Finally, this paper studies whether the firms’ innovating activity favors export performance. Using product and process innovation indicators, together with data on R&D investment, no evidence is found that they increase the probability of exporting. In this context, our results reveal that firm size and the fact of having previously exported are more important than innovation in increasing the probability of exporting in future. (Trimest Econ/GIGA)