Are the Benefits of Export Support Durable? Evidence from Tunisia
This paper evaluates the effects of the FAMEX export promotion program in Tunisia on the performance of beneficiary firms. While much of the literature assesses only the short-term impact of such programs, the paper considers also the longer-term i...
Main Authors: | , , , |
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Language: | English en_US |
Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2013
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/12/17083805/benefits-export-support-durable-evidence-tunisia http://hdl.handle.net/10986/12189 |
Summary: | This paper evaluates the effects of the
FAMEX export promotion program in Tunisia on the performance
of beneficiary firms. While much of the literature assesses
only the short-term impact of such programs, the paper
considers also the longer-term impact. Propensity-score
matching, difference-in-difference, and weighted least
squares estimates suggest that beneficiaries initially see
faster export growth and greater diversification across
destination markets and products. However, three years after
the intervention, the growth rates and the export levels of
beneficiaries are not significantly different from those of
non-beneficiary firms. Exports of beneficiaries do remain
more diversified, but the diversification does not translate
into lower volatility of exports. The authors also did not
find evidence that the program produced spillover benefits
for non-beneficiary firms. However, the results on the
longer-term impact of export promotion must be interpreted
cautiously because the later years of the sample period saw
a collapse in world trade, which may not have affected all
firms equally. |
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