Are the Benefits of Export Support Durable? Evidence from Tunisia

Détails

ID Serval
serval:BIB_2E84F72CFB7D
Type
Article: article d'un périodique ou d'un magazine.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Titre
Are the Benefits of Export Support Durable? Evidence from Tunisia
Périodique
Journal of International Economics
Auteur⸱e⸱s
Cadot O., Fernandes A., Gourdon J., Mattoo A.
ISSN
0022-1996
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
2015
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
97
Numéro
2
Pages
310-324
Langue
anglais
Résumé
This paper evaluates the effects of the FAMEX export promotion program in Tunisia on the performance of beneficiary firms. While most studies assess only the short-term impact of such programs, we consider also the longer-term impact. Our estimates suggest that the average beneficiary initially saw both higher overall export levels and greater diversification across destinations and products. However, three years after the intervention, beneficiaries' export levels and diversification were no longer significantly different from those of a control group. Furthermore, the effects were heterogeneous across firms: small and large firms saw no positive impact on export levels, and even the positive impact on medium sized firms was temporary. The temporariness of the impact was not due to spillovers to non-beneficiary firms which helped them to catch up, or to greater exposure of beneficiaries to crisis-affected economies. Rather, the impact may be transient because the program did not lead to the enhancements in product quality or sophistication which could have strengthened competitiveness durably. Notwithstanding its transient effect, the relatively low-cost FAMEX still generated two Tunisian Dinars of private profits per Dinar of program expenditure, and the additional corporate tax revenue just covered the public cost of the program.
Mots-clé
Export promotion, Export margins, Tunisia, Impact evaluation, Propensity-score matching, Matching grant
Web of science
Création de la notice
20/12/2016 15:27
Dernière modification de la notice
20/08/2019 14:13
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