Heterogeneous impacts of finance on firm exports: Evidence from export deregulation in a large developing country

This paper investigates the heterogeneous effects of finance on firm exports through lens differential exporting modes. China's WTO accession leads to an export deregulation, which empowers private domestic firms with low registered capital directly. quasinatural experiment encourages switching from indirect direct exporting, and thus provides ideal setting explore among switchers non-switchers. Applying difference-in-differences (DID) approach a comprehensive survey data Chinese manufacturing firms, we find that improves more for relative continuous exporters. Our mechanism analysis shows manifests pronounced encouraging effect firm-level operation efficiency productivity switchers. Moreover, show non-switchers are in post-WTO period. The time-varying impacts suggest economic loss caused by distortion before because it prevents productive yet financially constrained exporting.