IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/canjec/v55y2022i3p1539-1565.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The microeconomics of new trade models

Author

Listed:
  • Martin Alfaro

Abstract

International trade can increase product market competition and hence be pro‐competitive. Is this feature captured in new trade models? I study this question in a setting with firm heterogeneity à la Melitz, under any productivity distribution and standard demands (e.g., demands from an additively separable utility, linear, translog, logit). My results indicate that better export opportunities are pro‐competitive: they reduce the domestic firms' markups and induce the exit of the least productive domestic firms. But, surprisingly, tougher import competition is completely offset by a reduction in the mass of domestic incumbents, leaving the competitive environment unaffected. Thus, it does not impact the prices, quantities, or survival productivity cut‐off of domestic firms. Consistent with previous studies, I also find that a reduction in import trade costs under two large countries and two‐way trade always decreases competition. I show that this outcome can be rationalized as capturing worse export conditions exclusively. La microéconomique des nouveaux modèles de commerce. Le commerce international peut accroître la concurrence sur le marché du produit et, du coup, favoriser le jeu de la concurrence. Cette caractéristique est‐elle prise en compte dans les nouveaux modéles de commerce? J'étudie cette question dans un contexte d'hétérogénéité des entreprises à la Melitz, selon n'importe quelle répartition de la productivité et pour des demandes standards (p. ex. demandes à partir d'une fonction d'utilité additivement séparable, linéaire, translog, logit). Mes résultats indiquent que les meilleures occasions d'exportation favorisent le jeu de la concurrence : elles réduisent les majorations de prix des entreprises nationales et provoquent la sortie des entreprises nationales les moins productives. Néanmoins, la concurrence plus féroce des importations est entièrement compensée par une réduction de la masse des titulaires nationaux, ce qui laisse l'environnement concurrentiel intact. Par conséquent, il n'y a aucun effet sur les prix, les quantités ou l'arrêt de productivité de survie des entreprises nationales. Comme dans mes études précédentes, je constate également qu'une réduction des coûts du commerce d'importation entre deux grands pays pour des échanges bilatéraux diminue toujours la concurrence. Je montre que ce résultat peut être rationalisé comme rendant compte exclusivement des pires conditions d'exportation.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Alfaro, 2022. "The microeconomics of new trade models," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(3), pages 1539-1565, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:canjec:v:55:y:2022:i:3:p:1539-1565
    DOI: 10.1111/caje.12606
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/caje.12606
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/caje.12606?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Feenstra, Robert C., 2018. "Restoring the product variety and pro-competitive gains from trade with heterogeneous firms and bounded productivity," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 16-27.
    2. J. Peter Neary, 2016. "International Trade in General Oligopolistic Equilibrium," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 669-698, September.
    3. Jonas Björnerstedt & Frank Verboven, 2016. "Does Merger Simulation Work? Evidence from the Swedish Analgesics Market," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(3), pages 125-164, July.
    4. Evgeny Zhelobodko & Sergey Kokovin & Mathieu Parenti & Jacques‐François Thisse, 2012. "Monopolistic Competition: Beyond the Constant Elasticity of Substitution," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 80(6), pages 2765-2784, November.
    5. Marc J. Melitz & Giancarlo I. P. Ottaviano, 2021. "Market Size, Trade, and Productivity," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Firms and Workers in a Globalized World Larger Markets, Tougher Competition, chapter 4, pages 87-108, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    6. Feenstra, Robert C., 2003. "A homothetic utility function for monopolistic competition models, without constant price elasticity," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 78(1), pages 79-86, January.
    7. Daron Acemoglu & Martin Kaae Jensen, 2015. "Robust Comparative Statics in Large Dynamic Economies," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 123(3), pages 587-640.
    8. Monika Mrázová & J. Peter Neary, 2017. "Not So Demanding: Demand Structure and Firm Behavior," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(12), pages 3835-3874, December.
    9. Volker Nocke & Nicolas Schutz, 2018. "Multiproduct‐Firm Oligopoly: An Aggregative Games Approach," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 86(2), pages 523-557, March.
    10. Ina Simonovska, 2015. "Income Differences and Prices of Tradables: Insights from an Online Retailer," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 82(4), pages 1612-1656.
    11. Bertoletti, Paolo & Epifani, Paolo, 2014. "Monopolistic competition: CES redux?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 227-238.
    12. Jung, Jae Wook & Simonovska, Ina & Weinberger, Ariel, 2019. "Exporter heterogeneity and price discrimination: A quantitative view," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 103-124.
    13. Milgrom, Paul & Shannon, Chris, 1994. "Monotone Comparative Statics," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 62(1), pages 157-180, January.
    14. Fally, Thibault, 2019. "Generalized separability and the gains from trade," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 8-12.
    15. Krugman, Paul R., 1979. "Increasing returns, monopolistic competition, and international trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 469-479, November.
    16. Marc J. Melitz, 2003. "The Impact of Trade on Intra-Industry Reallocations and Aggregate Industry Productivity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 71(6), pages 1695-1725, November.
    17. Kimball, Miles S, 1995. "The Quantitative Analytics of the Basic Neomonetarist Model," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 27(4), pages 1241-1277, November.
    18. Harald Uhlig, 1996. "A law of large numbers for large economies (*)," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 8(1), pages 41-50.
    19. Behrens, Kristian & Murata, Yasusada, 2007. "General equilibrium models of monopolistic competition: A new approach," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 136(1), pages 776-787, September.
    20. Marc J. Melitz & Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano, 2008. "Market Size, Trade, and Productivity (DOI:10.111/j.1467-937x.2007.00463.x)," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 75(3), pages 985-985.
    21. Demidova, Svetlana & Rodríguez-Clare, Andrés, 2013. "The simple analytics of the Melitz model in a small economy," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(2), pages 266-272.
    22. Bagwell, Kyle & Lee, Seung Hoon, 2020. "Trade policy under monopolistic competition with firm selection," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    23. Paolo Bertoletti & Federico Etro & Ina Simonovska, 2018. "International Trade with Indirect Additivity," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(2), pages 1-57, May.
    24. Costas Arkolakis & Arnaud Costinot & Andres Rodriguez-Clare, 2012. "New Trade Models, Same Old Gains?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(1), pages 94-130, February.
    25. Venables, Anthony J, 1987. "Trade and Trade Policy with Differentiated Products: A Chamberlinian-Ricardian Model," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 97(387), pages 700-717, September.
    26. Demidova, Svetlana, 2017. "Trade policies, firm heterogeneity, and variable markups," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 260-273.
    27. Xavier Vives, 2001. "Oligopoly Pricing: Old Ideas and New Tools," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 026272040x, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Martin Alfaro & Frederic Warzynski, 2022. "Export conditions in small countries and their effects on domestic markets," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(4), pages 1894-1928, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Monika Mrázová & J. Peter Neary, 2017. "Not So Demanding: Demand Structure and Firm Behavior," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(12), pages 3835-3874, December.
    2. Ziran Ding, 2022. "Firm heterogeneity, variable markups, and multinational production: A review from trade policy perspective," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(5), pages 1311-1357, December.
    3. Parenti, Mathieu & Ushchev, Philip & Thisse, Jacques-François, 2017. "Toward a theory of monopolistic competition," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 86-115.
    4. Nocco, Antonella & Ottaviano, Gianmarco I.P. & Salto, Matteo, 2019. "Geography, competition, and optimal multilateral trade policy," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 145-161.
    5. Etro, Federico, 2017. "Research in economics and monopolistic competition," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(4), pages 645-649.
    6. Badis Tabarki, 2020. "International Trade under Monopolistic Competition beyond the CES," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 20018, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    7. Mrázová, Monika & Neary, J. Peter, 2020. "IO for exports(s)," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    8. Badis Tabarki, 2020. "International Trade under Monopolistic Competition beyond the CES," Post-Print halshs-02966937, HAL.
    9. Feenstra, Robert C., 2018. "Restoring the product variety and pro-competitive gains from trade with heterogeneous firms and bounded productivity," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 16-27.
    10. Fally, Thibault, 2022. "Generalized separability and integrability: Consumer demand with a price aggregator," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    11. Badis Tabarki, 2020. "International Trade under Monopolistic Competition beyond the CES," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-02966937, HAL.
    12. Jacques-François Thisse & Philip Ushchev, 2018. "Monopolistic competition without apology," Chapters, in: Luis C. Corchón & Marco A. Marini (ed.), Handbook of Game Theory and Industrial Organization, Volume I, chapter 5, pages 93-136, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Heiland, Inga & Kohler, Wilhelm, 2022. "Heterogeneous workers, trade, and migration," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    14. Dhingra, Swati & Morrow, John, 2017. "Efficiency in large markets with firm heterogeneity," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(4), pages 718-728.
    15. Kiminori Matsuyama & Philip Ushchev, 2022. "Selection and Sorting of Heterogeneous Firms through Competitive Pressures," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-1189, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    16. Weinberger, Ariel, 2020. "Markups and misallocation with evidence from exchange rate shocks," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    17. Luca Fontanelli, 2023. "Theories of market selection: a survey," LEM Papers Series 2023/22, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    18. Macedoni, Luca & Weinberger, Ariel, 2022. "Quality heterogeneity and misallocation: The welfare benefits of raising your standards," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    19. Costas Arkolakis & Arnaud Costinot & Dave Donaldson & Andrés Rodríguez-Clare, 2019. "The Elusive Pro-Competitive Effects of Trade," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(1), pages 46-80.
    20. Monika Mrázová & J Peter Neary, 2019. "Selection Effects with Heterogeneous Firms," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(4), pages 1294-1334.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:canjec:v:55:y:2022:i:3:p:1539-1565. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1540-5982 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.