The Impact of Trade Promotion Services on Canadian Exporter Performance

46 Pages Posted: 20 May 2010

See all articles by Johannes Van Biesebroeck

Johannes Van Biesebroeck

K.U.Leuven; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Emily Yu

Government of Canada - Foreign Affairs and International Trade

Shenjie Chen

Government of Canada - Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT)

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: April 2010

Abstract

We evaluate the impact of the programs delivered by the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) on export performance by Canadian firms. We draw on a unique set of microdata created by linking three separate firm-level databases: Statistics Canada’s Exporter Register and its Business Register, which provide information on export activity and firm characteristics, and the TCS client management database maintained by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, which contains details on trade promotion services provided to Canadian firms. We apply the treatment effects analytical framework to isolate the effects of public sector trade promotion. We find that TCS programs have a consistent and positive impact on Canadian exporter performance. Exporters that access TCS services export, on average, 17.9 percent more than comparable exporters that do not. Furthermore, we also find that TCS assistance benefits exporters in terms of product and market diversification.

Keywords: Export Promotion, Heterogeneous Firms, Canada

JEL Classification: F13, F14, L15

Suggested Citation

Van Biesebroeck, Johannes and Yu, Emily and Chen, Shenjie, The Impact of Trade Promotion Services on Canadian Exporter Performance (April 2010). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1612209 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1612209

Johannes Van Biesebroeck (Contact Author)

K.U.Leuven ( email )

Naamsestraat 69
B-3000 Leuven
Belgium
+3216326793 (Phone)
+3216326796 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.econ.kuleuven.be/public/N07057/

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

Emily Yu

Government of Canada - Foreign Affairs and International Trade ( email )

125 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G2
United States

Shenjie Chen

Government of Canada - Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) ( email )

125 Sussex Drive
Ottawa K1A 0G2, Ontario
Canada
613-944-0376 (Phone)
613-944-0375 (Fax)