Exporter and Importer Dynamics Database for Germany

Researchers from the Word Bank recently released version 2.0 of the Exporter Dynamics Database (EDD). 1 This database includes exporter characteristics and measures of exporter growth based on firm-level customs information from 70 countries, primarily for the period between 2005 and 2012. The measures are available at the country-year, country-year-product, and country-year-destination level. One shortcoming of the earlier version 1.0 of the Exporter Dynamics Database was the absence of information on several of the most important countries in world exports, including Germany, the third largest exporter (and importer) of goods. This note contributes to the project by providing the evidence for exports of Germany for the years 2009 to 2012 that is now part of the World Bank’s EDD. Furthermore, it provides for the first time strictly comparable statistics for imports, thereby introducing the Importer Dynamics Database for Germany. The note provides details regarding the EDD and IDD for Germany, and it documents selected results for goods trade as a whole, and for trade with three of the most important partner countries (France, USA, and China).