Journal Article
No. 2013-5 | February 13, 2013
Joachim Wagner
The Granular Nature of the Great Export Collapse in German Manufacturing Industries, 2008/2009

Abstract

This paper uses comprehensive high-quality panel data from official statistics for exporting enterprises to investigate the micro-structure of the recent export collapse in manufacturing industries in Germany during the crisis of 2008/2009. Almost all of the decline in exports was due to negative changes of exports in firms that continue to export (i.e. at the so-called intensive margin) while the decrease of exports due to export stoppers (at the so-called extensive margin) was tiny. It is shown that idiosyncratic shocks to very large firms played a decisive role in shaping the export collapse.

JEL Classification:

F14, E32

Links

Cite As

Joachim Wagner (2013). The Granular Nature of the Great Export Collapse in German Manufacturing Industries, 2008/2009. Economics: The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal, 7 (2013-5): 1–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.5018/economics-ejournal.ja.2013-5