1 Exporter Dynamics Database

We introduce a new database that characterizes exporter behavior across 45 countries. The database was built from firm-level customs data and includes measures of exporter size, concentration, entry and exit, and diversification. Based on the data, we uncover four novel stylized facts. (1) More developed and larger economies have a larger export base (number of exporters), larger average exporter size, more concentrated export sectors (among firms), more diversified exporters in terms of products and destinations, and lower entry and exit rates. (2) Within countries, exports grow more in the short run through bigger firms (intensive margin) than through more firms (extensive margin). (3) Entry and exit rates are strongly positively correlated with each other and are negatively correlated with entrant survival rates, average exporter size, and exporter diversification across countries. (4) Average exporter size is not explained by country or sector characteristics while the number of exporters, the share of the top 1 % of exporters, the average number of products and destinations per exporter, entry and exit rates are explained to an important extent by those characteristics. We also confirm earlier results from country studies on the importance of large multi-product multi-destination firms in trad