رفتار شرکت های صادر کننده مواد غذایی ایتالیایی: آیا کیفیت محصول اهمیت دارد؟

Using firm-level data we investigate the export behavior of Italian food firms, focusing on the link between total factor productivity (TFP), product quality, and export across heterogeneous destinations. We test the main predictions of an international trade model based on firm heterogeneity in product quality and non-homothetic preferences in consumption. In this setting, the firm’s export intensity should be increasing in the per-capita income of foreign destinations, and the effect should be largely driven by firms’ heterogeneity in product quality. Using different measures of revenue-TFP, and different proxies for product quality, we find strong support for the main model predictions. Moreover, consistent with the Alchian–Allen effect, we find a positive relationship between the quality of exported products and the distance of destination countries.

Empirical evidence and theoretical models increasingly point to the importance of product quality for understanding the patterns of international trade. The quality of traded products is of primary importance, especially because economic growth and development are driven by the total factor productivity (TFP) that rises as a result of innovation, either reducing costs, or, indeed, increasing the quality of the input and the final products (Helpman, 2011).1

Understanding the determinants of firms’ export success and behavior is important for their implications on international trade patterns, the welfare effects of globalization and economic growth and development. Moreover, a deeper comprehension of the factors driving firms’ export performance can facilitate the design of policies that promote trade.