72nd International Atlantic Economic Conference

October 20 - 23, 2011 | Washington, USA

Opportunistic responses to Myopic policies: The case of Colombian manufacturing exports

Friday, 21 October 2011: 5:15 PM
Simon Teitel, Ph.D , International Research Centre, (ICER), Chevy Chase, MD
The response of Colombian manufacturing exporting firms to export incentives is analyzed via a detailed survey questionnaire.

The analysis deals with factors such as size and ownership, market orientation and market structure, price discrimination, and

destination of exports. Export promotion benefits were granted across the aboard and unlimited in time. Firms large and small,

foreign and national, with and without export experience, were all elligible for the gamut of incentives which included: tax exemptions,

subsidized financing, and free importing of parts and equipment for the production of exports. A vast majority of exporting firms took

advantage of this opportunity, but the evidence about their characteristics and performance raises serious questions concerning the

advisibility of granting, and maintaining over time, such policies without serious regard to the real need for them by firms differing

significantly in size, access to capital and tehcnology, as well as prior export experience.