Quality, variable markups, and welfare: A quantitative general equilibrium analysis of export prices

Haichao Fan, Yao Li, Sichuang Xu and Stephen Yeaple

Journal of International Economics, 2020, vol. 125, issue C

Abstract: Modern trade models attribute the dispersion of international prices to physical and man-made barriers to trade, to the pricing-to-market by heterogeneous producers and to differences in the quality of output offered by firms. This paper presents a tractable general equilibrium model that incorporates all three of these mechanisms. Our model allows us to confront Chinese firm-level data on the prices charged and revenues earned within and across markets. We show that all three mechanisms are necessary to fit the distribution of prices and revenues across firms and markets. Accounting for endogenous quality heterogeneity across firms and markets is shown to be critical for the response of prices to trade and tariff shocks.

Keywords: Quality; Variable markups; Export price; “Washington apples” effect; Specific trade costs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F12 F14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Quality, Variable Markups, and Welfare: A Quantitative General Equilibrium Analysis of Export Prices (2019)
Working Paper: Quality, Variable Markups, and Welfare: A Quantitative General Equilibrium Analysis of Export Prices (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:inecon:v:125:y:2020:i:c:s0022199620300465

DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2020.103327

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