Characteristics of Firms Transmitting Data Across Borders: Evidence from Japanese Firm-level Data

Cross-border data flows are increasingly critical for our economies in the digital age, but only a limited fraction of firms regularly transfer data across national borders or collect data from overseas. Based on our unique survey on cross-border data transfers linked with firm-level data derived from official statistics in Japan, we find that high-productivity firms tend not only to be active in global activities, such as exporting and foreign direct investment, but also to intensively transmit data across borders. Globalized and productive firms are also more likely to introduce 3D printers.