Trade Behaviour of Firms: An Empirical Study of the Size and Foreign Collaboration Effects

This paper analyses export and import propensities and balance of trade at firm level, while focusing on the size, foreign ownership and degree of foreign ownership (DFO) impacts. The effects of technology import and MNE-size are also examined. Previous firm level evidence for India is in several ways limited and confined mostly to sample data relating to large firms, though some studies have drawn firm level inferences from the industry level evidence. The present study based on a sample of the Indian pharmaceutical companies indicates absence of significant favorable trade effects of size, foreign ownership or DFO. Also, technology import and 'bigger MNE association' tend to reduce imports of intermediates.