Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/146239 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2016/39
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
This paper uses firm-level data from company tax declarations to analyse the complementary relationship between direct access to imported intermediate inputs and manufacturing firm performance in South Africa. There are three main findings. The first is on firm heterogeneity, showing that importers consistently demonstrate premiums in terms of productivity, employment, wages, and capital intensity in production compared to firms that do not trade. The second supports the hypothesis of firm learning by importing. Finally, we show that importing also has implications for exporting, especially if inputs are sourced from advanced economies.
Subjects: 
firms
imports of intermediate goods
South Africa
JEL: 
F14
F61
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9256-082-9
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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