Külkereskedelem és a vállalatok közötti különbségek

The paper presents the characteristics of Hungarian foreign trading firms and specificities of export dynamics that are revealed by analysing data on firm-level balance sheets and product-level trading. This empirical analysis follows the logic of models based on models of heterogeneous firms. It is found, in line with international evidence, that foreign trade in Hungary is highly concentrated, five per cent of firms accounting for more than eighty per cent of the total export-import volume. The firms that conduct foreign trade are more efficient than their non-trading peers in exports and in imports. Moreover trading status is a more important factor in efficiency ranking than whether the firm is domestic or foreign-owned. Finally, the authors present the main empirical findings on three aspects of Hungarian trade; the relationship of exports and imports, the role of innovation, and the stability of international trade flows. The findings suggest that competitiveness and growth are strongly related to trading activity. Thus the promotion of entry into foreign markets needs to be a prime economic policy concern. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]