0023-6152

AA00697606

6770290

Despite ample existing research on the trade effect with respect to food standards set by importing countries, the impact of national food standards adopted by exporting countries on firms’ productivity and export quality remain ambiguous. Using a firm–level Chinses trade data, this study assesses the relationship between national food standards, total factor productivity (TFP), and export quality by applying a mediation model. Our findings indicate that Chinese national food standards could enhance both firm’s TFP and export quality; and TFP partially mediates the relationship between food standards and export quality. Moreover, we distinguish the impact of national food standards according to different standard attributes. In contrast to the mandatory standards, the voluntary standards could significantly stimulate firms’ export quality upgrades through improving TFP. Additionally, this study implies the different ownership and exporting destination play a role in determining impacts of national food standards on firms’ TFP and export quality in China. The results reveal that the food standards could enhance the firms’ export quality through TFP improvement for non–SOEs and high–income exporting destinations.