Title : The Determinants of a Firm’s Exit from Exporting: Evidence from Korean Manufacturing Firms

Author : Yunmi Nam(BOK), Moon Jung Choi(BOK)

We empirically investigate the determinants of a firm’s exit from exporting, using Korean manufacturing firm-level data for the period of 2006 to 2014. Specifically, we estimate the effects of not only firm-level and industry-level characteristics but also macroeconomic variables on the probability that a firm stops exporting by applying a Complementary Log-Log Model analysis. The results of our estimation suggest that firm-level heterogeneity, such as workforce size, capital intensity, intangible assets and foreign ownership, industry-level variation, such as the labor displacement rate, and macroeconomic variables, such as domestic demand and world demand, significantly affect the possibility of a firm ceasing exports. Also, we show that market interest rates increase the possibility of an export cessation and that the effects of market interest rates are more pronounced on firms with higher debt ratio. In the primary exporting industries, the probability of a firm ceasing exports decreases as productivity at the firm rises.