Learning to Export : Evidence from Moroccan Manufacturing

This paper tests two alternative models of selection into export: lower costs and better market familiarity. Both are potentially subject to learning-by-doing, but differ in the type of experience required. Learning to produce at lower cost--what we call productivity learning--depends on general exp...

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Main Authors:	Fafchamps, Marcel, El Hamine, Said, Zeufack, Albert
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	EN
Published:	2012
Subjects:	Country and Industry Studies of Trade F140 Industry Studies: Manufacturing: General L600 Industrialization Manufacturing and Service Industries Choice of Technology O140 International Linkages to Development Role of International Organizations O190
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5705

id	okr-10986-5705
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-57052021-04-23T14:02:23Z Learning to Export : Evidence from Moroccan Manufacturing Fafchamps, Marcel El Hamine, Said Zeufack, Albert Country and Industry Studies of Trade F140 Industry Studies: Manufacturing: General L600 Industrialization Manufacturing and Service Industries Choice of Technology O140 International Linkages to Development Role of International Organizations O190 This paper tests two alternative models of selection into export: lower costs and better market familiarity. Both are potentially subject to learning-by-doing, but differ in the type of experience required. Learning to produce at lower cost--what we call productivity learning--depends on general experience, while learning to design products that appeal to foreign consumers--market learning--depends on export experience. Using panel and cross-section data on Moroccan manufacturers, we uncover evidence of market learning but little is evidence that productivity learning is what enables firms to export. These findings are consistent with the concentration of Moroccan manufacturing exports in consumer items, i.e., the garment, textile, and leather sectors. It is the young firms that export. Most do so immediately after creation. We also find that, among exporters, new products are exported very rapidly after production has begun. The share of exported output nevertheless increases for 2-3 years after a new product is introduced, which is indicative of some learning. Old firms are unlikely to switch to exports, even in response to changes in macro incentives. 2012-03-30T07:34:08Z 2012-03-30T07:34:08Z 2008 Journal Article Journal of African Economies 09638024 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5705 EN http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Journal Article Morocco
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	EN
topic	Country and Industry Studies of Trade F140 Industry Studies: Manufacturing: General L600 Industrialization Manufacturing and Service Industries Choice of Technology O140 International Linkages to Development Role of International Organizations O190
spellingShingle	Country and Industry Studies of Trade F140 Industry Studies: Manufacturing: General L600 Industrialization Manufacturing and Service Industries Choice of Technology O140 International Linkages to Development Role of International Organizations O190 Fafchamps, Marcel El Hamine, Said Zeufack, Albert Learning to Export : Evidence from Moroccan Manufacturing
geographic_facet	Morocco
relation	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo
description	This paper tests two alternative models of selection into export: lower costs and better market familiarity. Both are potentially subject to learning-by-doing, but differ in the type of experience required. Learning to produce at lower cost--what we call productivity learning--depends on general experience, while learning to design products that appeal to foreign consumers--market learning--depends on export experience. Using panel and cross-section data on Moroccan manufacturers, we uncover evidence of market learning but little is evidence that productivity learning is what enables firms to export. These findings are consistent with the concentration of Moroccan manufacturing exports in consumer items, i.e., the garment, textile, and leather sectors. It is the young firms that export. Most do so immediately after creation. We also find that, among exporters, new products are exported very rapidly after production has begun. The share of exported output nevertheless increases for 2-3 years after a new product is introduced, which is indicative of some learning. Old firms are unlikely to switch to exports, even in response to changes in macro incentives.
format	Journal Article
author	Fafchamps, Marcel El Hamine, Said Zeufack, Albert
author_facet	Fafchamps, Marcel El Hamine, Said Zeufack, Albert
author_sort	Fafchamps, Marcel
title	Learning to Export : Evidence from Moroccan Manufacturing
title_short	Learning to Export : Evidence from Moroccan Manufacturing
title_full	Learning to Export : Evidence from Moroccan Manufacturing
title_fullStr	Learning to Export : Evidence from Moroccan Manufacturing
title_full_unstemmed	Learning to Export : Evidence from Moroccan Manufacturing
title_sort	learning to export : evidence from moroccan manufacturing
publishDate	2012
url	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5705
_version_	1764396023860428800

Learning to Export : Evidence from Moroccan Manufacturing

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