Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/191356 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. 014.2018
Publisher: 
Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), Milano
Abstract: 
This study uses firm level data on 19 Sub-Saharan Africa countries between 2004 and 2016 to provide a rigorous analysis on the impact of Chinese import competition on productivity, skills, and performance of firms., We measure import competition and ports accessibility at the city-industry level to identify the relevance of firms’ location in determining the impact of Chinese imports competition. To address endogeneity concerns, a time-varying instrument for Chinese imports based on the interaction between an exogenous geographic characteristic and a shock in transportation technology is developed. The results show that imports competition has a positive impact on firm performance, mainly in terms of productivity catch-up and skills upgrading. Of particular interest is the finding that the effects of import competition from China are stronger for more remote firms that have lower port accessibility, an indication that Chinese imports in remote areas improves productivity of laggard firms, employment, and intensity of skilled workers. Our findings indicate that African firms are improving their performance as a consequence of the higher Chinese import intensity, mainly through direct competition and the use of higher quality inputs of production sourced from China.
Subjects: 
Import Competition
Productivity Catch-up
Trade Infrastructure
Skills
Employment
Sub-Saharan Africa
China
JEL: 
F16
F61
F63
R11
J21
J24
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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