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How Import Affects Firm’s Competitiveness in Export Markets
This article examines the relationship between import of components and export of products in Russian manufacturing companies. We test whether the import of components and semi-finished goods for further processing increases export intensity and innovativeness of export at the firm level. Additionally, the effect of imports of equipment and other means of production on the competitiveness of exports is tested. We employ cross-sectional data for 895 manufacturing firms in Russia in 2014 which comes from the RUFIGE database. To test the hypothesis, we use probit regression. The study shows that import of high-tech components provides higher competitiveness in export markets and is associated with higher share of export revenues in Russian manufacturing firms. We also find a positive impact of imports of machinery and equipment on the export of high-tech products in Russian manufacturing firms.