Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/322163 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 38/25
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
A broad empirical literature examines the impact of corporate taxes on firms' investment, location, and tax avoidance behaviour. Other corporate adjustment margins have received little attention. In this paper, we use administrative customs and tax return data from South Africa to demonstrate that corporate taxes influence firms' export performance and their competitiveness in international product markets. Leveraging a difference-in-differences approach, we find that exports by South African firms decline significantly when foreign competitors-serving the same destination market in the same six-digit product category-experience a corporate tax rate cut. In further analyses, we document that reductions in competitors' tax costs are associated with a decline in the real economic activity of South African exporters.
Subjects: 
corporate tax
export competition
policy evaluation
emerging market
JEL: 
F14
F61
H25
H32
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9256-597-8
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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