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Chapter5ImmigrationandtheExportDecisiontotheHomeCountry5.1 IntroductionIn parallel to the complaints of the French government about the poor export perfor-manceofFrench firmsintermsofvolumesandintermsofmarkets, recentlypublishedstudies by the French administration point to key factors underlying the dynamism ofa subset of firms. In particular, one key factor emphasized by a study of the Parisiancommercialcourtisthepresence,inthesameregion,ofalargenumberoffirmsheadedbyforeign immigrants. “InParis, there hasbeenbetween2000and2004a 56%increasein the number firms created or managed by Chinese immigrants, while the number offirms managed by French citizens has decreased by 2.99%. 41% of the firms headedbyChineseentrepreneursareinvolvedinimportingandexporting”,reportsthestudy.Immigrants can impact local export performance by transferring information to lo-cal entrepreneurs about the preferences of the consumers in their home country. From149CHAPTER5. IMMIGRATIONANDEXPORTDECISION 150an economic policy perspective, it is therefore important to learn and emphasize themechanism through which these networks based on the country-specific knowledge ofimmigrants can enhance export flows. Assessing whether immigrants generate highertrade,andidentifyingthemechanismsofthediffusionofinformationcanparticipateinthedevelopmentofindustrialpoliciesastheonesrecentlylaunchedbytheFrenchmin-1istryoffinanceoncompetitivenessclusters . Fromanacademicpointofview ...