Exporting from a Small Landlocked Economy : An Assessment of Firm-Product-Destination Survival Rates in the Lao PDR

This paper analyzes previously unreleased firm-level customs transaction data from the Lao PDR in order to assess the determinants of cohort survival among exporters. The authors find that export flows in value terms are dominated by the intensive...

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Main Authors: Stirbat, Liviu, Record, Richard, Nghardsaysone, Konesawang
Format: Policy Research Working Paper
Language:English
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20110622081412
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3460
id okr-10986-3460
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-34602021-04-23T14:02:10Z Exporting from a Small Landlocked Economy : An Assessment of Firm-Product-Destination Survival Rates in the Lao PDR Stirbat, Liviu Record, Richard Nghardsaysone, Konesawang AGRICULTURE BRAND BRAND NAME BUSINESSES BUYER BUYERS CENTRALIZATION COMPANY COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE COMPETITORS CONSTRUCTION CUSTOMS DATA COVERAGE DATA ENTRY DEVELOPMENT POLICY DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS DIVERSIFICATION ECONOMIES OF SCALE EQUIPMENT EXCHANGE RATES EXPORT GROWTH EXPORT MARKETS EXPORT PROMOTION EXPORT SECTOR EXPORTS FIRMS FOREIGN MARKET GDP GDP PER CAPITA GLOBAL ECONOMY IMAGE INCOME INCOME LEVELS INSTALLATION INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON INTERNATIONAL TRADE LICENSE LICENSES MANUFACTURING MARGINAL COSTS MARKET FAILURE MARKET FAILURES MERGERS MINING COMPLEXES NEW MARKETS OPEN ACCESS PER CAPITA INCOME POLICY SUPPORT PRODUCT QUALITY PRODUCTIVITY REGRESSION ANALYSES REGRESSION ANALYSIS RESULT RESULTS SEARCH SEES SMALL FIRMS SOFTWARE SYSTEM SUBSTITUTES SUPPLY CHAIN TIME PERIOD TOTAL SALES TRADE FACILITATION TRANSACTION WEB This paper analyzes previously unreleased firm-level customs transaction data from the Lao PDR in order to assess the determinants of cohort survival among exporters. The authors find that export flows in value terms are dominated by the intensive margin, with large firms continuing to supply the same products to the same markets. On the extensive margin, new export spells for firms, products and firm-product-destination units are very small and short-lived, suggesting that although there is significant experimentation and discovery by firms, there is only limited capacity to stay in markets once an entry is made. Regression analyses of the factors that influence survival past the first year reveal that this is positively correlated with the initial dollar value (starting big makes a difference) and is helped by the firm's experience with the product and the destination, but hindered by a lack of focus. Agglomeration of exporters in the same destination with the same product is beneficial, an effect analogous to external economies of scale. The authors conclude by recommending that the focus of export promotion activity should be on helping existing exporters find and stay in new markets. 2012-03-19T18:02:51Z 2012-03-19T18:02:51Z 2011-06-01 http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20110622081412 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3460 English Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 5695 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper East Asia and Pacific East Asia and Pacific Southeast Asia Asia Lao People's Democratic Republic
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic AGRICULTURE
BRAND
BRAND NAME
BUSINESSES
BUYER
BUYERS
CENTRALIZATION
COMPANY
COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE
COMPETITORS
CONSTRUCTION
CUSTOMS
DATA COVERAGE
DATA ENTRY
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS
DIVERSIFICATION
ECONOMIES OF SCALE
EQUIPMENT
EXCHANGE RATES
EXPORT GROWTH
EXPORT MARKETS
EXPORT PROMOTION
EXPORT SECTOR
EXPORTS
FIRMS
FOREIGN MARKET
GDP
GDP PER CAPITA
GLOBAL ECONOMY
IMAGE
INCOME
INCOME LEVELS
INSTALLATION
INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
LICENSE
LICENSES
MANUFACTURING
MARGINAL COSTS
MARKET FAILURE
MARKET FAILURES
MERGERS
MINING COMPLEXES
NEW MARKETS
OPEN ACCESS
PER CAPITA INCOME
POLICY SUPPORT
PRODUCT QUALITY
PRODUCTIVITY
REGRESSION ANALYSES
REGRESSION ANALYSIS
RESULT
RESULTS
SEARCH
SEES
SMALL FIRMS
SOFTWARE SYSTEM
SUBSTITUTES
SUPPLY CHAIN
TIME PERIOD
TOTAL SALES
TRADE FACILITATION
TRANSACTION
WEB
spellingShingle AGRICULTURE
BRAND
BRAND NAME
BUSINESSES
BUYER
BUYERS
CENTRALIZATION
COMPANY
COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE
COMPETITORS
CONSTRUCTION
CUSTOMS
DATA COVERAGE
DATA ENTRY
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS
DIVERSIFICATION
ECONOMIES OF SCALE
EQUIPMENT
EXCHANGE RATES
EXPORT GROWTH
EXPORT MARKETS
EXPORT PROMOTION
EXPORT SECTOR
EXPORTS
FIRMS
FOREIGN MARKET
GDP
GDP PER CAPITA
GLOBAL ECONOMY
IMAGE
INCOME
INCOME LEVELS
INSTALLATION
INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
LICENSE
LICENSES
MANUFACTURING
MARGINAL COSTS
MARKET FAILURE
MARKET FAILURES
MERGERS
MINING COMPLEXES
NEW MARKETS
OPEN ACCESS
PER CAPITA INCOME
POLICY SUPPORT
PRODUCT QUALITY
PRODUCTIVITY
REGRESSION ANALYSES
REGRESSION ANALYSIS
RESULT
RESULTS
SEARCH
SEES
SMALL FIRMS
SOFTWARE SYSTEM
SUBSTITUTES
SUPPLY CHAIN
TIME PERIOD
TOTAL SALES
TRADE FACILITATION
TRANSACTION
WEB
Stirbat, Liviu
Record, Richard
Nghardsaysone, Konesawang
Exporting from a Small Landlocked Economy : An Assessment of Firm-Product-Destination Survival Rates in the Lao PDR
geographic_facet East Asia and Pacific
East Asia and Pacific
Southeast Asia
Asia
Lao People's Democratic Republic
relation Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 5695
description This paper analyzes previously unreleased firm-level customs transaction data from the Lao PDR in order to assess the determinants of cohort survival among exporters. The authors find that export flows in value terms are dominated by the intensive margin, with large firms continuing to supply the same products to the same markets. On the extensive margin, new export spells for firms, products and firm-product-destination units are very small and short-lived, suggesting that although there is significant experimentation and discovery by firms, there is only limited capacity to stay in markets once an entry is made. Regression analyses of the factors that influence survival past the first year reveal that this is positively correlated with the initial dollar value (starting big makes a difference) and is helped by the firm's experience with the product and the destination, but hindered by a lack of focus. Agglomeration of exporters in the same destination with the same product is beneficial, an effect analogous to external economies of scale. The authors conclude by recommending that the focus of export promotion activity should be on helping existing exporters find and stay in new markets.
format Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
author Stirbat, Liviu
Record, Richard
Nghardsaysone, Konesawang
author_facet Stirbat, Liviu
Record, Richard
Nghardsaysone, Konesawang
author_sort Stirbat, Liviu
title Exporting from a Small Landlocked Economy : An Assessment of Firm-Product-Destination Survival Rates in the Lao PDR
title_short Exporting from a Small Landlocked Economy : An Assessment of Firm-Product-Destination Survival Rates in the Lao PDR
title_full Exporting from a Small Landlocked Economy : An Assessment of Firm-Product-Destination Survival Rates in the Lao PDR
title_fullStr Exporting from a Small Landlocked Economy : An Assessment of Firm-Product-Destination Survival Rates in the Lao PDR
title_full_unstemmed Exporting from a Small Landlocked Economy : An Assessment of Firm-Product-Destination Survival Rates in the Lao PDR
title_sort exporting from a small landlocked economy : an assessment of firm-product-destination survival rates in the lao pdr
publishDate 2012
url http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20110622081412
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3460
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