Product and Destination Mix in Export Markets
JOURNAL
YEAR
Sep 21, 2013
TYPE
Articles in journals
AUTHORS
Opromolla, L., Amador J.
VOL Nº
149
PAGES
30
ABSTRACT
This article studies the joint destination-product strategies of exporters, using the universe of export transactions for firms located in Portugal in the period 1995-2005. The article breaks-down the annual growth rate of total exports along different margins and details choices made by multi-product, multi-destination firms regarding their export portfolio. In addition, the article looks at similar features for the sub-sample of new exporters. We find that both the firm-level extensive and intensive margins are important in driving the year-to-year variation in aggregate exports. However, variation over time in the sales of continuing exporters is mainly driven by their sales in continuing destinations. In addition, a product's export tenure within a firm varies largely across currently exported products in the context of an intense activity of product and destination switching. Moreover, the higher the importance of a product, the more its sales are concentrated in the firm's top destination. Finally, the article finds that, while continuing exporters enter new markets mainly by selling old products, new exporters access new destinations mainly by exporting new products.
JEL CLASS
KEYWORDS
Multi-product firm,Product scope,Market penetration,Exports