Local context and exports: an analysis with a matched sample of firm-province data

New-new international economics literature argues that firm characteristics have a primary impact on their ability to export. However, a parallel strand of the literature highlights the role of context where firms operate. This paper studies the export performance of about 4300 Italian manufacturing firms between 2000 and 2013. The results show that, even by controlling the effect of firms' characteristics, features of the local context where firms operate - such as the distance from foreign markets, the level of social capital, the efficiency of the public sector, the degree of financial development and the extent of agglomeration economies - have a significant impact on firms' export.