Working Paper: NBER ID: w24013
Authors: Anna Gumpert; Haishi Li; Andreas Moxnes; Natalia Ramondo; Felix Tintelnot
Abstract: This paper studies the life-cycle dynamics of exporters and multinational enterprises (MNEs). Using rich firm-level data, we document a comprehensive set of facts on entry, exit, and growth of new exporters and new MNEs. Guided by these facts, we build a model based on the standard proximity-concentration trade-off extended to incorporate time-varying firm productivity and sunk costs of MNE entry. The calibrated version of the model goes far in matching cross-sectional and dynamic moments of the data on exporters and MNEs. We show that including the choice to become an MNE affects the predicted export dynamics after trade liberalization. The different dynamics in a model with and without MNEs hinge on the right truncation of fast-growing exporters induced by the inclusion of the MNE choice.
Keywords: exporters; multinational enterprises; lifecycle dynamics; trade liberalization
JEL Codes: F1; F2; F23
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| MNE status (F29) | lower exit rates (J63) |
| previous export experience (F10) | lower exit rates for MNEs (F23) |
| foreign market size (F23) | first-year exit rates of exporters (F10) |
| distance (R12) | first-year exit rates of exporters (F10) |
| foreign market size (F23) | MNE exit rates (F29) |
| distance (R12) | MNE exit rates (F29) |