Mercredi | 2017-11-09
Salle B103 – 12h00

Cherry MOUNIR SAAD KHALIL

This paper aims to investigate the effect that infrastructure quality and accessibility have on the extensive and intensive export margins of manufacturing firms in Egypt. Using firm-level data from the World Bank’s enterprise survey for the years 2007 and 2013, we attempt to link Egyptian firms’ heterogeneity in productivity and characteristics related to the access toinfrastructure such as transport, telecommunication, power generation and water and sanitation, with their trade performance. Results suggest that quality and access to infrastructure have significant effects on export volumes, stronger in the case of private foreign firms. Being a large firm, increases resilience against the growth of access to power and water, as obstacles to exporting over time. Owning an electricity generator also seems to have a significant positive impact on exports. Moreover, results show discrepancies of infrastructure quality across regions, implying the importance of local authorities in maintaining and enhancing infrastructure quality and accessibility.