CREDIT Development Seminar - Jonathan Timmis (Nottingham)

Internet Adoption And Firm Exports In Developing Countries: A New Instrumental Variable Approach

This paper investigates how Internet technology affects whether a firm exports directly or via intermediaries. This paper contributes to the literature through a novel instrumental variable approach. I match IP addresses to firm locations to construct an exogenous measure of local Internet infrastructure.  I find that developing country firms with Internet technology have greater exports than those that do not. Internet access magnifies direct trade and, if anything, may diminish indirect trade. Importantly, these results are robust to consideration of endogeneity