What's Different about Exporters? Evidence from Colombian Manufacturing

Abstract

Using a large panel of Colombian manufacturing plants, this paper finds that exporters are significantly larger, more capital intensive, have higher labour productivity, and pay higher wages than nonexporters three years before exporting for the first time. The differential in performance increases in the years leading to entry in the export market. After entry, sales, employment, and the proportion of skilled workers in the labour force keep growing significantly faster for exporters, but the growth of labour productivity and capital intensity is indistinguishable for exporters and nonexporters.