Financial integration, trade, and productivity

Economic integration is key to the success of reforms in transition economies. This dissertation contributes to the understanding of the economic integration process in East Asia, especially Vietnam, and its consequences for international trade and finance, and for the relationship between trade and productivity. In recent decades, Vietnam has played an increasingly important role in international trade, especially after the removal of many cross-border financial barriers. Despite increasing integration between Vietnam and other East Asian countries, Vietnam still lags behind in many respects. More specifically, this dissertation examines the interaction between finance, international trade and productivity at firm level, using an extensive database of Vietnamese firms during the period 2009-2014. The results show that limited access to external financing, in combination with low productivity, hinder the participation of firms in exporting. Moreover, these companies become more productive by learning from exporting.