Ibadan Journal of the Social Sciences
Volume 15, No. 2, 2017
DOI: 10.36108/ijss/7102.51.0210
Innovation and Export-Productivity Link in Developing Economies: Evidence from Nigerian Firms
Adeolu O. Adewuyi 2, Adebowale M. Adeleke1 and Adegoke I. Adeleke1
1Department of Economics, University of lbadan, Nigeria
2Trade Policy Research and Training Programme (TPRTP), University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Abstract
Using Nigeria enterprise survey data in 2007 for 1.891 firms; this study examined (i) productivity differential between exporting and non-exporting firms (ii) productivity differential between innovating and non-innovating firms and (iii) the link between productivity and exporting, as well as the role of innovation in productivity-exporting link. Both parametric and lion-parametric methods were employed in this study. Findings indicated that there is no significant difference between the productivity of exporting and non-exporting firms, while there is significant difference between productivity of innovating and non-innovating firms. The self selection and learning-by-exporting hypotheses were rejected and thus, there is no significant link between productivity and exporting. Further, innovations forms (product and process) did not have significant moderating role in productivity-exporting link. However. results show that access to a line of credit or loan from a financial institution has significant influence on firm innovation, exporting and productivity. The results further confirm that the manager experience playa key role in the productivity of non-innovating enterprise firms. Some policy lessons were drawn from the various findings of this study.
Keywords: Innovation, export, productivity, parametric and non-parametric test, Nigerian firms