Export Promotion With Matchmaking and Grants
Evidence From Portuguese Firms
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19233121 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Paulo Henrique Barbosa (0009-0006-5483-263X, ISEG Research ISEG Lisbon School of Economics & Management, Universidade de Lisboa Lisbon Portugal, corresponding author), João Amador (0000-0002-8966-8036, Banco de Portugal and Nova SBE Lisbon Portugal), Esmeralda Arranhado (0000-0002-9525-0082, ISEG Research ISEG Lisbon School of Economics & Management, Universidade de Lisboa Lisbon Portugal) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-10 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | World Economy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0378-5920 • E-ISSN: 1467-9701 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/twec.70101 |
| OpenAlex | W7160859309 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 35 |
This paper evaluates two core export‐promotion tools: internationalization grants and matchmaking services provided by the Portuguese export promotion agency (AICEP). We merge administrative records with customs and firm data for 2012–2021. We employ an event‐study approach with firm and year fixed effects in a setup of staggered adoption of the programs. Internationalization grants increase treated firms' total exports by approximately 13%, while matchmaking services raise exports to France by approximately 32%. Effects are larger for micro and small firms (grants 18%; matchmaking 40%) and concentrated in traditional manufacturing sectors. Results also show that both export promotion programs are effective when supporting firms with a permanent presence in international markets, versus occasional exporters. Event‐study diagnostics show flat pre‐trends, and placebo and anticipation checks support identification. Complementarily, finite‐duration robustness tests show no rapid fadeout after 3 years, and a simple cost–benefit analysis indicates that both programs have favorable cost–benefit outcomes
Internationalization · Multinational corporation · Portuguese · Global trade and economics · Global trade, sustainability, and social impact · International Business and FDI
How much should we trust staggered difference-in-differences estimates?
Exports and Productivity
Exporting and Firm Performance
Do exports generate higher productivity? Evidence from Slovenia
Two-Way Fixed Effects Estimators with Heterogeneous Treatment Effects
The Impact of Trade on Intra-Industry Reallocations and Aggregate Industry Productivity
Estimating dynamic treatment effects in event studies with heterogeneous treatment effects
Export Boosting Policies and Firm Performance
Why Some Firms Export
Do Export Support Programs Affect Prices, Quality, Markups, and Marginal Costs? Evidence From a Natural Policy Experiment
Effects of time-dependent environmental regulations on air pollution
Beyond the average effects
The Potato's Contribution to Population and Urbanization
| Highly cited | No |
|---|