Expanding and diversifying the manufactured exports of Irish-owned enterprises

This research report provides novel empirical evidence on the patterns and dynamics of manufactured exports by Irish-owned firms over the past two decades. A key feature of this analysis is the comparison of the export behaviour and export performance of exporters of food and non-food products. By using a highly detailed dataset of manufacturing export records at the transaction level by firm, product and destination markets, the analysis firstly identifies patterns of export concentration and specialisation and how these evolved over time. These patterns are assessed in connection with global export patterns and trends. Secondly, on the basis of decompositions of the variation of export growth across manufacturing firms the analysis identifies and compares firms’ strategies for export growth along product and destination markets mixes. Finally, this report examines the responsiveness of export growth to changes in economic growth in destination markets.