South African exporting firms: What do we know and what should we know?

Edwards, Lawrence and Rankin, Neil A. and Schöer, Volker (2008): South African exporting firms: What do we know and what should we know? Published in: Journal of Development Perspectives , Vol. 1, No. 4 (October 2008): pp. 67-92.

Abstract

Policies to stimulate export growth and diversify the composition of exports in South Africa are now high on the government’s agenda. In order to understand exporting and its impact on job creation, one needs to understand how firms function, what determines, or constrains, exporting at the firm level and the links between export behaviour and labour demand. An understanding of these relationships, particularly over time, is also essential for the implementation and evaluation of export related policies. This paper reviews the evidence on South African exporting firms, highlighting what we know, and what we do not know. A key conclusion is that our understanding of firm level export behaviour is severely constrained by the lack of adequate firm data, particularly panel data.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: South Africa; exports; firms
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D2 - Production and Organizations > D21 - Firm Behavior: Theory; F - International Economics > F1 - Trade > F12 - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies ; Fragmentation; F - International Economics > F1 - Trade > F14 - Empirical Studies of Trade; D - Microeconomics > D2 - Production and Organizations > D24 - Production ; Cost ; Capital ; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity ; Capacity; F - International Economics > F1 - Trade > F19 - Other

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