The existing literature establishes the pattern that exporters in developed countries sell most of their output in their own domestic markets; however, recent evidence suggests that the export intensity distributions of 47 countries exhibit peaks at each end. In this study, we study the characteristics of pure exporters, namely exporters at the right-hand peak of the distribution. We use Thailand's firm-level panel data covering the period from 2007 through 2017 to estimate factors that explain the likelihood that a firm self-selects to be a pure exporter. We do not find evidence that firm-level productivity can explain the decision to become a pure exporter. Rather, the main factors that determine the decision are the capital-labour ratio, the amount of labour, foreign ownership, investment promotion and firm age.

The literature has established a pattern that exporters in developed countries sell most of their output in their domestic markets. However, recent evidence finds that firm-level export intensity, defined as the ratio of exports to revenue, in at least 47 countries is bimodally distributed. In this paper, we investigate the determinants of the bimodality of Thailand's export intensity distribution by using Thailand's manufacturing firm-level census data covering the period between 2007-2017. We do not find evidence that firm productivity can explain the variation in export intensity. We document that firms with export intensity at least 90 percent, so-called "pure exporters," can be explained by (i) the firm's characteristics, (ii) the demandside factor, and (iii) the government's policy. Pure exporters are relatively young, have foreign ownership, produce narrow product variety, and export to high-income countries. The government's policy, such as investment promotion, can raise firms' export intensity and encourage firms to become pure exporters, thereby emphasizing another important channel through which the government can increase exports.