In a previous paper, Delgado, Fariñas and Ruano (2002) report TFP differences between exporters and non-exporters on the basis of a sample of Spanish manufacturing firms. In this paper, we extend the previous analysis in three directions using a similar data set. First, we investigate additional economic performance differences between exporters and non-exporters. Second, we measure TFP differences estimating production functions that control for unobserved heterogeneity and simultaneity bias. Third, we explore the self-selection and learning-by-exporting hypothesis as explanations for the greater performance of exporters. With respect to the results, we confirm that many indicators of economic performance such as productivity, size, wages and innovation are greater in exporting firms. Furthermore, TFP differences between exporters and non-exporters estimated with parametric methods are remarkably similar to those estimated using index numbers. Finally, performance differences and transition patterns between the export market and the domestic market indicate higher performance for entering exporters with respect to non-exporters at the moment of entry. We find evidence of selection in the entry and the exit side of the export market. One of the basic results that we obtain indicates that after controlling for self-selection, the productivity growth of entering exporters does not significantly change with respect to non-exporters. As the evidence we find indicates no systematic changes in performance between non-exporters and exporters after entry takes place, we do not confirm the learning-by-exporting hypothesis. Copyright 2007 The Authors Journal compilation Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2007 .

The objective of this paper is to explore the relationship between foreign sourcing and productivity at the firm level. To organise the empirical work, we rely on Antràs and Helpman's model (2004), which predicts that high-productivity firms engage in trade (foreign sourcing) and low-productivity firms do not source abroad. The paper performs productivity comparisons between groups of firms sourcing abroad and firms which do not source abroad, applying non-parametric procedures to a sample of Spanish manufacturing firms. Our results indicate the existence of large and significant differences in productivity between firms that source abroad and those that do not. The productivity premium of foreign sourcing firms is robust to other characteristics that are associated with firm productivity. Furthermore, the evidence reported is consistent with self-selection of the most productive firms into the practice of sourcing abroad. The ex ante productivity distribution of firms that engage in foreign sourcing stochastically dominates the distribution of firms which do not source abroad. Finally, our estimates suggest that changing the intensity of foreign sourcing is a technology shifter for firms, and this has a direct impact on their total factor productivity. Copyright 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

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consider simplified versions of the dependent variable as the number of locations in which the MNEs are present as well as the number of their subsidiaries.A large part of the empirical literature concerning the link between productivity and the scope and the scale of MNEs uses data of firms from a single country. Our paper uses a multi-country data set. We deliberately enlarge the number of countries to introduce more variability in the data, taking into consideration the control of the heterogeneity coming from the existence of parent multinationals from different countries. A second contribution of our paper is that we use count data models to estimate the scope elasticity. This is a statistical technique almost not used in this research area. Given that the dependent variable is the number of subsidiaries that the parent firm has in a foreign market, we think this technique is more appropriate for estimating the scope elasticity. Furthermore, we take into consideration the existence of a large number of zeros (no subsidiaries in a given foreign market). An appropriate approach to deal with this issue is to estimate zero-inflated versions of count models (Cameron & Trivedi, 2005). This alternative approach proves that there is a systematic bias when scope elasticities are estimated not taking this into account. Overall, our contribution in estimating scope and scale elasticities associated with the multinational activity of firms is, on the one hand, the use of a multi-country data set, which is relatively infrequent in the available empirical literature and, on the other hand, the use of new estimation procedures for scope elasticity, in particular.The third prediction coming out from the model of firm heterogeneity and multinational production refers, as we mentioned before, to the relationship between the attributes of the destination countries (distance, size of the country, etc.) that make FDI more or less attractive and the characteristics of the productivity distributions of firms entering foreign markets. There is an asymmetry between both elements: those country attributes that positively affect the entry of MNEs are negatively related to the average productivity of parent firms entering abroad, and the opposite for those country attributes that have a negative impact on FDI activity. We call this result the "asymmetric effect hypothesis." Although this is a central prediction of the model of firm heterogeneity and multinational activity, empirical evidence on this hypothesis is rather limited. To our knowledge, it has been considered by Yeaple (2009), Chen and Moore (2010) and Hyun and Hur (2013). The first paper examines a sample of US multinationals, the second contains an application for French multinationals and the third refers to South Korean firms.Concerning the asymmetric effect prediction, our contribution here is to provide additional evidence using a multi-country data set which is richer in terms of the variability of the country characteristics and also in the dispersion of the productiv...

Abstract. This paper analyses the role played by both competitive pressure (increasing imports) and the restructuring of industries through entry and exit in productivity growth of Spanish manufacturing during the eighties, the key period of its accession to the EEC economy. A GMM panel estimation of the determinants of corrected Solow residual for 75 manufacturing during [1979][1980][1981][1982][1983][1984][1985][1986][1987][1988][1989][1990], shows that these forces accounted for 80% of productivity growth, playing an important role the displacement of inefficient firms by competitive entry. JEL Classification: D24, C33