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We report a hitherto undocumented causal mechanism of how patent protection affects exports. The empirical analysis leverages unique data on the worldwide patenting and exporting activities at the product level for the universe of French firms. Exploiting heterogeneity of patent coverage within firm-product-country destinations, we find evidence of a patent premium. Goods protected by patents in a destination country are associated with higher export quantities, ceteris paribus. The effect ranges between four and eleven percent. The causality of the finding is confirmed using rejected patent applications, which are exogenous to the firm. Exports collapse when firms lose patent protection.

This paper investigates the change in worker flows (i.e. net growth, but also hiring and separation rates) around an investment in automation-intensive goods and, within firms, across occupational categories. Resorting to an integrated dataset encompassing detailed information on firms, their imports, and employer-employee data for French manufacturing employers over the period 2002–2015, we identify ‘automation spikes’ using imports of capital goods embedding automation technologies. Even after controlling for firms’ non-random selection into automation, we find that automation spikes are linked to an increase in firms’ contemporaneous net employment growth rate, jointly explained by a higher hiring rate and a lower separation rate. Furthermore, we find that automation spikes are not associated with significant changes in the composition of the workforce (in terms of 1-digit and 2-digit occupational categories, and routine-intensive vs. non routine-intensive jobs).

This paper provides large scale evidence on the determinants of international competitiveness of Indian manufacturing firms, focusing in particular on the role of technology, costs and imported intermediate inputs. Our evidence suggests that innovation, in particular R&D investment, is positively related to both firms’ probability to export and firms’ export volumes. We also find that imported intermediate inputs, incorporating foreign technology is strongly associated with expanding export activities of firms. Finally, and in contrast to much of previous evidence on developed economies, we find that higher productivity or lower unit labour costs are not systematically associated with the probability to enter export markets, but they are positively related to higher export volumes. Overall our results point to the existence of a pattern of involvement in international trade for firms in developing countries that is not relying as a main driver on cost competitiveness.

This paper investigates the change in worker flows (i.e. net growth, but also hiring and separation rates) around an investment in automation-intensive goods and, within firms, across occupational categories. Resorting to an integrated dataset encompassing detailed information on firms, their imports, and employer-employee data for French manufacturing employers over the period 2002–2015, we identify ‘automation spikes’ using imports of capital goods embedding automation technologies. Even after controlling for firms’ non-random selection into automation, we find that automation spikes are linked to an increase in firms’ contemporaneous net employment growth rate, jointly explained by a higher hiring rate and a lower separation rate. Furthermore, we find that automation spikes are not associated with significant changes in the composition of the workforce (in terms of 1-digit and 2-digit occupational categories, and routine-intensive vs. non routine-intensive jobs).

This article explores the association between persistence of high-growth and crucial dimensions of firm structure and performance (productivity, profits, investment patterns, innovation, and financial structures) to shed light on what makes a persistent high-growth firm. We employ a multidimensional definition of a high-growth firm that simultaneously accounts for growth of sales and employment, and design an empirical strategy that seeks to capture the “long-run” ability of high-growth firms to replicate their high-growth performance over time. Exploiting a large panel covering the period of the China’s miracle, we find that none of the considered firm attributes stands out as distinctive feature of persistent high-growth. This finding casts doubts on the long-run contribution of high-growth firms, in turn challenging the long-run effectiveness of policies supporting the creation and expansion of such firms.