Comments by Siew Yean Tham, on What Determines Small Champions’ Export Performance? Evidence from Korea Firm-Level Data

Siew Yean Tham: The evolution of trade theory from the traditional neoclassical Heckscher-Ohlin model to “new new” trade models shifts the focus in international trade from the exports of countries to exports of firms. This change in the unit of analysis from country to firm represents a distinct shift in framework from a world of homogeneous firms (and therefore represented by a representative firm) where all firms export in an exporting country to a brand new framework that better reflects the observed reality of heterogeneous firms where some firms export and some do not. Under this new framework, an important question that immediately emerges is: Why do some firms export and why is it that some do not, even within the same industry? In particular, what are the characteristics of exporting firms compared with non-exporting firms? This question is of interest to academic researchers as well as policymakers who try...