Abstract Based on the measurements of 227 Chinese listed companies'productivity during the period 2001--2007 , and of the self-selection effect and learning-by-exporting effect in Chinese export enterprises ,we find no significant differences in productivity between would-be exporting enterprises and non-exporting ones . The productivity in would-be exporting enterprises is not apparently higher than non-exportingenterprises ,which indicates theabsence of the self-selection effect and proves the significant influence of the export factor on enterprises'e xport overflow .At the same time ,thedifferencesin productivitygrowth areobvious ,whichindicates the presence of the learning-by-exporting effect . The ownership factor has no significant influence on the productivity growth of both kinds of enterprises , which shows that Chinese enterprises benefit from the learning-by-exporting effect rather than the self-selection effect . The study of Chinese companies'prior learning-by-exporting effect will provide strong theoretical support for their further internationalization .
