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Chapter41SpilloversandExportBehavior4.1 IntroductionFacilitating exports by domestic firms today appears as an important priority of policymakers in developed as well as developing countries. In December 2004, the FrenchForeignTradeministerarguedthat“Exportisanationalcauseforwhichthegovernmentismobilized”. Heannounceda setofmeasuresto betaken bythe governmentin orderto “consolidate the international presence of firms already exporting, and broaden thenumberofexporters(...)”.From the economicpoint of view, such interventions are justified in case of marketsfailures,andonepossiblyimportantfailureinthecaseofexportingispositiveinforma-tionexternalities, i.e. exportspillovers. Theunderlyingmechanismofexportspilloversis that the export specific knowledge of firms that are experienced on foreign marketscanbenefitnearbyfirmsand allowthem to start exporting toagiven market. Theexis-tenceofexportspillovershasbeenstudiedbyseveralpapers,buttheempiricalevidence1This chapter is based on Koenig P. (2005), “Agglomeration and the Export Decision of FrenchFirms”,CRESTWorkingPaper#2005-01,submittedforpublication.122CHAPTER4. SPILLOVERSANDEXPORTBEHAVIOR 123is either indirect or questioned. Indeed, the identification of export spillovers requiresdata on a panel of exporting firms, so as to disentangle the export spillovers from thefirm specific effect. And, using a panel of exporting firms, one will need to handle theprobable existence ofasunkexport cost, hencecontrol for thefact ...