We use comparable micro level panel data for 14 countries and a set of identically specified empirical models to investigate the relationship between exports and productivity. Our overall results are in line with the big picture that is by now familiar from the literature: Exporters are more...

We propose a new approach for identifying and measuring the degree of financial constraint faced by firms and use it to investigate the effect of financial constraints on firm survival and development. Using panel data on French manufacturing firms over the 1996-2004 period, we find that (i)...

Is corporate financial structure a determinant of non-price competitiveness in export mar- kets? In this paper we provide a positive answer to this question by finding that among illiquid exporters leverage is negatively correlated with the quality of their exported goods.This result is obtained...

This paper contributes to the literature explaining firm-level heterogeneity in the extensive margin of trade, defined as the number of products exported by each firm. We develop a dynamic model where firms must invest in R&D to maintain and increase their portfolio of goods: the process of...