Using Korean manufacturing firm-level data, this paper confirms that the use of imported inputs leads to increased productivity and that larger firms are more likely to use imported inputs. We find as a result that firm-level import decisions explain a non-trivial fraction of the fluctuations in manufacturing aggregate productivity in Korea over the period between 2006 and 2012. Specifically, our estimation results show that Korean manufacturing aggregate TFP declined by 8.7% during the Global Financial Crisis, about one-third of which is attributable to a contraction in firm-level import intensity. The main findings of this paper suggest a possible link between the recent global slowdown in productivity and the slowdown in global trade.

利用韩国制造业公司的数据，本文证实了使用进口投入物可以提高生产率，并且较大的公司更可能使用进口投入物。结果，我们发现公司层面的进口决定可以解释韩国制造业总生产率在2006年至2012年期间波动的重要部分。具体而言，我们的估计结果表明，韩国制造业总TFP在2007年下降了8.7％。全球金融危机，其中约三分之一归因于企业层面的进口强度下降。本文的主要发现表明，近期全球生产率下降与全球贸易下降之间可能存在关联。