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Firm‐level productivity and exporting in Uganda's manufacturing sector

Edward Bbaale (Faculty of Economics and Management, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda)

African Journal of Economic and Management Studies

ISSN: 2040-0705

Article publication date: 20 September 2011

860

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate firm‐level interactions between productivity and exporting in Uganda's manufacturing sector.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper empirically tested two hypotheses that relate to the dynamic gains from trade and also have tended to dominate the literature; self‐selection and learning‐by‐exporting hypotheses. It employs proxies of self‐selection and learning‐by‐exporting obtained from indices of path dependence to fit maximum likelihood estimates of export behavior.

Findings

The results provide support for both hypotheses and it is also found that more experienced exporters reap more productivity gains from learning effects which is in line with the view that knowledge spillovers to exporting firms increase with the level of interaction in the global market place. Thus, learning‐by‐exporting is not a “short term” occurrence which takes place only in the first few years of entry in export markets after which it would fizzle out as a firm's exporting experience increases but rather, it is a cumulative process.

Practical implications

This paper generates a number of insights that can guide policy makers in designing policies to promote firm productivity growth that is an engine of growth in the private sector and by extension, would fuel up overall economic growth and poverty reduction.

Originality/value

Previous studies on exports and growth in Uganda have been basically focused on macro‐data analysis; yet, promoting rapid expansion of manufactured exports may require more than just a good macroeconomic policy environment. This study fills the research gap by relating firm‐level productivity performance to the microeconomic environment in which manufacturing firms operate.

Keywords

Citation

Bbaale, E. (2011), "Firm‐level productivity and exporting in Uganda's manufacturing sector", African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 220-242. https://doi.org/10.1108/20400701111165650

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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