Market Expansion and Productivity Growth: Do New Domestic Markets Matter as Much as New International Markets?

Abstract

This paper asks how market expansion contributes to productivity growth. It investigates whether entry to both new international markets and new domestic markets is associated with greater productivity growth. It also examines whether exit from export markets is necessarily associated with deteriorating performance or whether it too can lead to success when associated with movements to new markets. Finally, the paper examines the strategy of firms that move to new markets after they withdraw from export markets in order to examine the differences that set them apart from their counterparts that do not find themselves able to adapt because they simply withdraw to their home domestic markets.

Keywords: market expansion, productivity growth, new markets, export

JEL Classification: D2, F1, L2