Does Innovation Spur Export Performance across Countries? An Investigation from Meta-regression Analysis

Innovation plays a major role in determining exports of a country by strengthening domestic industries. The narratives of innovation and exports are important for national competitiveness. Therefore, this study, utilizing a meta-regression analysis, examines the impact of innovation on export performances. We conduct a meta-analysis from 27 empirical studies that contain 249 estimates undertaken during 1996–2019 with an aim to test whether the results of empirical studies are sensitive to various measures utilized and recognize possible policy implications. This study finds that innovation affects export performance across countries. We find strong evidence that developed countries’ domestic innovation enhance their exports; however, for developing countries, innovation does not contribute to their exports. It indicates that within developing countries, the level of innovation efforts varies and concomitantly their inability to translate such efforts into exports.