 Productivity and the decision to import and export: Theory and evidenceHiroyuki Kasahara and Beverly Lapham Journal of International Economics, 2013, vol. 89, issue 2, 297-316 Abstract: This paper develops an open economy model with heterogeneous final goods producers who simultaneously choose whether to export their output and whether to use imported intermediates. Using the theoretical model, we develop and estimate a structural empirical model that incorporates heterogeneity in productivity, transport costs, and other costs using Chilean plant-level data for a set of manufacturing industries. The estimated model is consistent with many key features of the data regarding productivity, exporting, and importing. We perform a variety of counterfactual experiments to assess quantitatively the positive and normative effects of barriers to trade in import and export markets. These experiments suggest that there are substantial gains in aggregate productivity and welfare due to trade. Furthermore, because of import and export complementarities, policies which inhibit the importation of foreign intermediates can have a large adverse effect on the exportation of final goods. Keywords: Exporting; Importing; Firm heterogeneity; Aggregate productivity; Resource allocation (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:inecon:v:89:y:2013:i:2:p:297-316 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2012.08.005 Access Statistics for this article Journal of International Economics is currently edited by Gourinchas, Pierre-Olivier and RodrÃguez-Clare, Andrés More articles in Journal of International Economics from Elsevier |
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