Learning-by-exporting: do firm characteristics matter? Evidence from Argentinian panel data.

We identify characteristics that affect firms ’ ability to learn from their export activities. Our analysis employs propensity score match-ing (PSM) techniques and GMM regressions on a panel of Argen-tinian firms spanning 1992-2001. Characteristics we find important to learning-by-exporting are: foreign ownership, intensive use of im-ported inputs, a skilled workforce and small firm size. Finally, firms that are new to exporting seem to experience particularly high produc-tivity gains but begin enjoying them before entering into the export market. ∗We thank Jens Arnold for supplying the original Stata code used to implement the