Daniele Moschella (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa)

Automation Adoption and Export Performance: Evidence from French Firms

Abstract: We investigate the impact of investment in automation-related goods on the export performance of French firms. We integrate datasets on trade activities and firm characteristics for the population of French importing firms and estimate the effects on adopters’ outcomes within a difference-in-differences design exploiting import lumpiness in product categories linked to automation technologies (including robots). After an automation spike, firms increase their export performance along both intensive and extensive margins. However, these benefits are not uniform across firms. High-productivity firms capture the majority of gains, experiencing increased exports, broader market reach, and lower unit prices, while low-productivity firms show no significant improvements. Notably, non-innovative firms demonstrate stronger positive effects than innovative firms, suggesting a potential trade-off between process and product innovation. The results also indicate significant restructuring in firms’ import patterns following automation. Our findings contribute to understanding how technological upgrading shapes international trade patterns and highlight the importance of firm characteristics in determining the success of automation investments.