The Determinants of Export Performance in Manufacturing Firms of Iran

This paper examines the determinants of the export performance of firms in Iran manufacturing firms, using cross-sectional data from 12301 firms in 2007 and a Tobit and Heckman regression model. The study finds that firms that have larger sizes, lower unit labor cost and high capital to labor ratio have a higher probability and a propensity to export. The results reveal that research and development activities in firms have a positive and significant impact on the export performance of the firm. The analysis also indicates that ownership type and human capital are meaningless and unimportant determinants of export performance in the manufacturing sector of Iran.