Cambio estructural y Comercio

In this work, we analyze the effect of export destinations on Total Factor Productivity (TFP) of manufacturing Uruguayan firms for the period 1997-2006. We study two effects: self-selection and learning by exporting. There is evidence of self-selection with a stronger effect for firms exporting to developed countries. Nevertheless, applying transition groups methodology in order to mitigate endogeneity issues, there is no evidence that exporting to developed countries enhances productivity through learning by exporting. However, evidence of learning by exporting is found for those firms starting to export to less developed countries. These findings suggest an international strategy through which firms reach gains in productivity exporting to markets with lower entry cost, and once they have learned and improved their productivity, are in a better position to enter more developed countries.http://ief.eco.unc.edu.ar/

This work seeks to identify causal effects of foreign ownership on productivity, the demand for skilled labour and wage inequality.

This paper analyses the effects of increased competition resulting from the creation of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) on productivity, employment and wages for the Uruguayan manufacturing sector at the plant level.We use impact evaluation techniques, namely regressions and matching and difference-in-differences estimation for the period 1988-1995.One of the most robust findings is that increased trade liberalization seems to improve total factor productivity. Furthermore, we find reductions in employment driven mainly by the decrease in blue collars, increases in wages and a reduction in the wage gap between white and blue collars as a result of increased trade exposure. Thus, the increase in productivity along with the unemployment of unskilled workers would indicate a room for training, labour and social policies in order to countervail the negative impact of trade liberalization on less qualified workers.

En este trabajo se muestra como las políticas comerciales, aunadas a las políticas industriales pro-activas han permitido un importante crecimiento del sector automotriz en Uruguay.

En este trabajo se muestra como las políticas comerciales, aunadas a las políticas industriales pro-activas han permitido un importante crecimiento del sector automotriz en Uruguay.

In an increasingly globalized word, exporting plays a central role for economic growth and poverty reduction, particularly in small open economies..In this work we test the hypothesis that a rise in investment favors entrance in export markets and increases exports among previously exporting firms. We address causal links through impact evaluation techniques for observational data. We examine the binary case as well as continuous treatment analysis for investment as treatment. The analysis is conducted for a panel of Uruguayan manufacturing firms for the period 1997-2008. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of our approach for a Latin American economy, and the relatively long time span of our data makes it possible a better characterization of new entrants and firms with changing export behavior. Also, our data appears to be richer, including information to estimate total factor productivity, and R&D and training investments, which provide better controls for confounding factors. We find evidence that investments "cause" exports and export orientation, which provides a rationale for carefully designing investment promotion policies rather than focusing on other export support policies.