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Trade and Firm Heterogeneity In A Quality-Ladder Model of Growth

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Author Info
Tetsugen Haruyama (Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University)
Laixun Zhao (Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration, Kobe University)
Abstract

The present paper explores the effect of trade liberalization on the level of productivity as well as the rate of productivity growth in an R&Dbased model with heterogeneous firms. We introduce new and plausible features that are absent in existing studies. First, technical progress takes the form of continual quality improvement of products over time. Second, firm entry and exit are endogenously determined due to creative destruction of products traded. In this framework, we demonstrate that a lower transport cost or export sunk cost unambiguously reallocates resources from non-exporting industries to R&D as well as exporting industries. This means that trade liberalization increases the level of manufacturing productivity and the rate of technical progress. These results are found to be robust in an extended model with population growth without scale effects. In extensions of the basic model, we also endogenize the ex ante distribution of firm heterogeneity and examine the effect of R&D subsidies.

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File URL: http://www.rieb.kobe-u.ac.jp/academic/ra/dp/English/dp223.pdf
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Paper provided by Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University in its series Discussion Paper Series with number 223.

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Length: 46 pages
Date of creation: Apr 2008
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Handle: RePEc:kob:dpaper:223

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  1. Helble, Matthias & Okubo, Toshihiro, 2008. "Heterogeneous quality firms and trade costs," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4550, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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  2. Gustafsson, Peter & Segerstrom, Paul, 2006. "Trade Liberalization and Productivity Growth," CEPR Discussion Papers 5894, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Segerstrom, Paul S, 1998. "Endogenous Growth without Scale Effects," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(5), pages 1290-1310, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Bernard, Andrew B. & Jensen, J. Bradford & Schott, Peter K., 2006. "Trade costs, firms and productivity," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(5), pages 917-937, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Bernard, Andrew B. & Bradford Jensen, J., 1999. "Exceptional exporter performance: cause, effect, or both?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 1-25, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Jones, Charles I, 1995. "R&D-Based Models of Economic Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(4), pages 759-84, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Andrew B. Bernard & Jonathan Eaton & J. Bradford Jensen & Samuel Kortum, 2003. "Plants and Productivity in International Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1268-1290, September. [Downloadable!]
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  8. Richard Baldwin & James Harrigan, 2007. "Zeros, Quality and Space: Trade Theory and Trade Evidence," NBER Working Papers 13214, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Francisco Rodriguez & Dani Rodrik, 1999. "Trade Policy and Economic Growth: A Skeptic's Guide to the Cross-national Evidence," Electronic Working Papers 99-003, University of Maryland, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  10. Baldwin, Richard E. & Robert-Nicoud, Frederic, 2008. "Trade and growth with heterogeneous firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 21-34, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. Hallak, Juan Carlos, 2006. "Product quality and the direction of trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 238-265, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Romain Wacziarg & Karen Horn Welch, 2003. "Trade Liberalization and Growth: New Evidence," NBER Working Papers 10152, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Melitz, Marc J, 2002. "The Impact of Trade on Intra-Industry Reallocations and Aggregate Industry Productivity," CEPR Discussion Papers 3381, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Philippe Aghion & Peter Howitt, 1990. "A Model of Growth Through Creative Destruction," NBER Working Papers 3223, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. Andrew Atkeson & Ariel Burstein, 2007. "Innovation, firm dynamics, and international trade," NBER Working Papers 13326, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  16. Jonathan Eaton & Samuel Kortum, 2002. "Technology, Geography, and Trade," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 70(5), pages 1741-1779, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Philippe Aghion & Nick Bloom & Richard Blundell & Rachel Griffith & Peter Howitt, 2005. "Competition and Innovation: An Inverted-U Relationship," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 120(2), pages 701-728, May.
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  18. David Hummels & Peter J. Klenow, 2005. "The Variety and Quality of a Nation's Exports," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(3), pages 704-723, June. [Downloadable!]
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