Success and Failure of African Exporters

38 Pages Posted: 20 Apr 2016

See all articles by Olivier Cadot

Olivier Cadot

University of Lausanne - School of Economics and Business Administration (HEC-Lausanne); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); World Bank

Leo Iacovone

World Bank; University of Sussex

Martha Denisse Pierola

World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG)

Ferdinand Rauch

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: May 1, 2011

Abstract

Using a novel dataset with transactions level exports data from four African countries (Malawi, Mali, Senegal and Tanzania), this paper uncovers evidence of a high degree of experimentation at the extensive margin associated with low survival rates, consistent with high and middle income country evidence. Consequently, the authors focus on the questions of what determines success and survival beyond the first year and find that survival probability rises with the number of firms exporting the same product to the same destination from the same country, pointing towards the existence of cross-firm synergies. Accordingly the evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that those synergies may be driven by information spillovers. More intuitively and consistently with multi-product firms models, the analysis also finds that firms more diversified in terms of products, but even more in terms of markets, are more likely to be successful and survive beyond the first year.

Keywords: Markets and Market Access, Microfinance, Economic Theory & Research, Debt Markets, E-Business

Suggested Citation

Cadot, Olivier and Iacovone, Leonardo and Pierola, Martha Denisse and Rauch, Ferdinand, Success and Failure of African Exporters (May 1, 2011). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 5657, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1839147

Olivier Cadot (Contact Author)

University of Lausanne - School of Economics and Business Administration (HEC-Lausanne) ( email )

Unil Dorigny, Batiment Internef
Lausanne, 1015
Switzerland
+41 21 692 3463 (Phone)
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Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

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World Bank ( email )

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Leonardo Iacovone

World Bank ( email )

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University of Sussex ( email )

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Martha Denisse Pierola

World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG) ( email )

1818 H. Street N.W.
MSN3-311
Washington, DC 20433
United States

Ferdinand Rauch

affiliation not provided to SSRN

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