Estimating the substitutability between private and public consumption: the case of Spain, 1960–2003
This paper examines the relationship between private and public consumption using Spanish data over the period 1960–2003, using a two-good permanent-income model. We extend previous analysis addressing the question of whether this relationship is stable over time, or exhibits a structural break allowing the instability to occur at an unknown point in time. Our empirical results indicated the existence of a long-run relationship between private and public consumption. We also detect a structural change of regime shift in the cointegration regression around the time of 1973–74. Finally, the estimated intratemporal and intertemporal elasticities of substitution between the two types of expendi…
Reconsidering learning by exporting
Self-selection and learning by exporting are the main explanations for the higher productivity of exporting firms. But, whereas evidence on self-selection is largely undisputed, results on learning by exporting are mixed and far from conclusive. However, recent research by De Loecker (J Int Econ 73(1):69–98, 2007) has shown that the conclusions from previous learning by exporting studies may have been driven by strong assumptions about the evolution of productivity and the role of export status. Relaxing these assumptions turns out to be critical to find evidence of learning by exporting in a representative sample of Spanish manufacturing firms. Our results indicate that the yearly average …
Innovation and business performance for Spanish SMEs: New evidence from a multi-dimensional approach
This article examines the impact of product, process and organisational innovations on two alternative dimensions of business performance: finance and operations. Two indicators capture financial performance: sales increase and production cost reduction. Operational firm performance is captured by two alternative indicators: productive capacity augmentation and quality improvement of product/service provided by the firm. Using a wide-ranging sample of Spanish small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), our findings highlight the significant impact of innovation upon both these dimensions of business performance, although they differ regarding the type of innovation and the performance indi…
Does Firm Size Affect Self-selection and Learning-by-Exporting?
The trade literature has long discussed the existence of some benefits attributed to exporting, among others, the improvement of firm productivity. This paper examines whether firm size plays a role in this supposedly favourable relationship between exporting and total factor productivity (TFP). To examine this, we investigate, separately for large and small firms, whether firms starting to export perform better ex ante (self-selection) than non-exporting firms and, conditional on this fact, if they are also more productive ex post (learning-by-exporting). With this purpose, we use both stochastic dominance and matching techniques. The dataset is a representative sample of Spanish manufactu…
Training strategic thinking: Experimental evidence
Abstract Strategic behavior is crucial for strong firm performance, especially in competitive environments. Thus, designing a good strategy is a key issue for firms. Designing a strategy requires a combination of strategic thinking—which involves analyzing a firm's strategic environment, defining a vision of its future, and devising new ideas to out-think competitors – and strategic planning – which implies using these ideas to formulate a business plan. Although many firms excel at strategic planning, few devote enough resources to strategic thinking, which results in strategic insanity (i.e., firms repeatedly applying the same strategies with the expectation of different outcomes). To fos…
Self-Selection into Exports: Productivity and/or Innovation?
Abstract Recent research has related the firm decision to export with firm innovation activities and productivity. The aim of this paper is to disentangle the direct and indirect links through which self-selection into exports, coming both from productivity and innovation, may operate. For this purpose we use Spanish manufacturing firm data for the period 1990–2000, drawn from the Encuesta sobre Estrategias Empresariales. The main results we obtain can be summarized as follows. First, there is a self-selection into exports direct effect coming from productivity. Second, there is also a self-selection indirect effect into exports stemming from productivity to the probability of exporting thr…
Do individuals with higher cognitive ability play more strategically?
Abstract This paper experimentally analyses the relationship between cognitive ability and strategic behaviour. In our experiment, individuals play in a sequential game, where computing the equilibrium is challenging. On completion of the game, we measure each player’s cognitive ability using Raven’s Progressive Matrices test. Our results reveal that the number of strategic decisions (played in the sequential game) increases significantly among those individuals with higher cognitive ability (measured by Raven’s test), compared to those with lower cognitive ability. These results clearly confirm that individuals with higher cognitive abilities play more strategically.
Financial constraints and R&D and exporting strategies for Spanish manufacturing firms
We investigate the role of internal and external financial constraints in the firms� joint decision to export and invest in R&D. We use objective measures at the firm level such as cash flow and financial costs. We further analyze both if firms� size and the onset of the current economic crisis have had an impact. We estimate our model with Spanish manufacturing firms for the period 1990�2011, and obtain that both internal and external financial constraints are relevant.
Human capital and the intertemporal substitution for leisure: empirical evidence for Spain
AbstractIn this paper we provide the first estimate of the intertemporal substitution for leisure in Spain, accounting for the impact of human capital accumulation. This would allow uncovering whether the intertemporal labour supply of Spanish workers is affected by human capital. Our empirical strategy consists of estimating the equation for the intertemporal substitution of leisure with and without accounting for human capital, what allows to detect hypothetical estimation biases associated to omitting the impact of human capital. To that end, we build a pseudo-panel data set combining the Spanish Family Expenditure Survey and the Labour Survey over the period 1987–1997. While the model t…
Firms’ distance to the European productivity frontier
AbstractIn this article we explore the factors contributing to reduce the distance of laggard firms to the European frontier, focusing on institutional factors. To characterize Total Factor Productivity frontier firms within industries for the European Union we use firm level data from AMADEUS for the period 2003–2014. Our findings provide evidence on the importance of governance quality and easiness in getting credit in explaining the distance of laggard firms to the European productivity frontier. We also find that other factors at the country level -tertiary education, R&D stock, and trade openness- and at the firm level -size, age, and capital-intensity- influence the distance of la…
Are importing and exporting complements or substitutes in an emerging economy? The case of Colombia
The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of two trading strategies (exporting and importing) on total factor productivity (TFP) and the potential complementarity/substitutability effects of these strategies. In order to assess these effects, robust estimates of TFP are obtained using a general method of moments approach that explicitly determines the ability of a firm's trading experience to affect productivity. Data from the Annual Manufacturing Survey spanning from 2007 to 2016 is used for Colombian manufacturing firms. Our estimation results suggest that, regardless of the technological intensity of the industry in which the firm operates, active trading strategies (exporting o…
Manager gender, entrepreneurial orientation and SMEs export and import propensities: evidence for Spanish businesses
This paper investigates the role of manager gender in SMEs’ decisions to get involved in exporting and importing activities, using a sample of 1,405 Spanish SMEs. We borrow insights from international entrepreneurship theories and feminist theories to set testable hypotheses regarding how managerial gender and entrepreneurial orientation (proactiveness, risk-taking and innovativeness) may influence SMEs export and import propensities. Using a bivariate probit model and controlling for other managerial and business characteristics, results reveal that there are not significant disparities in exporting propensities between men- and women-run businesses. However, female-led SMEs show a lower i…
CEO gender and SMEs innovativeness: evidence for Spanish businesses
AbstractThis paper analyses the role of gender of the chief executive officer (CEO) on the propensity to introduce innovations using a sample of 1405 Spanish small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We examine whether there are significant differences between female- and male-led businesses in terms of their propensity to innovate, and whether these differences may be explained by factors related to the attributes of the CEO concerning risk tolerance, self-confidence, education level and cooperative behaviour. In particular, this study tests if the linkages between these managerial attributes and the propensity to innovate are influenced by the gender of the CEO. Using a multivariate pro…
Product and process innovation and total factor productivity: Evidence for manufacturing in four Latin American countries
The literature on firm productivity recognizes the important role played by firm innovation activities on firm productivity in developed countries. However, the literature for developing and emerging economies is scarce and far from conclusive. The aim of this paper is to study the innovation–productivity link (distinguishing between process and product innovations) for manufacturing at the firm level for four Latin American countries (two classified as upper-middle income countries by the World Bank—Argentina and Mexico—and two as lower-middle income—Colombia and Peru). We aim testing whether the level of development is a mediating factor in the innovation–productivity link. The data used …
The Dynamic Linkages Among Exports, R&D and Productivity
This paper estimates a dynamic model of a firm's decision to export and invest in RD in the second step, we estimate a bivariate dynamic model of the firm's decision to invest in R&D and export, in which we analyse the linkages among investing in R&D, exporting and productivity. Using a representative sample of Spanish manufacturing firms for the period 1990–2009, we find that both export and R&D positively affect future productivity, which will drive more firms to self-select in those activities.