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Multiregional Firms And Region Switching In The U.S. Manufacturing Sector

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  • Antoine Gervais

Abstract

I use data on U.S. manufacturing establishments to study the spatial reallocation of resources that takes place within surviving firms as they open and close establishments in different regions. To motivate the empirical analysis, I extend existing models of industry dynamics to include production‐location decisions within firms. Consistent with the theory, the empirical results show that only a fraction of firms make the same product in multiple regions, that multiregional firms are larger and more productive on average compared to single‐region firms, and that “region switching” is pervasive among multiregional firms and correlated with changes in firm and firm‐region characteristics. (JEL L2, F12, F23)

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  • Antoine Gervais, 2018. "Multiregional Firms And Region Switching In The U.S. Manufacturing Sector," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(2), pages 955-982, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:56:y:2018:i:2:p:955-982
    DOI: 10.1111/ecin.12532
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    Cited by:

    1. Gervais, Antoine & Jensen, J. Bradford, 2019. "The tradability of services: Geographic concentration and trade costs," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 331-350.
    2. Chen, Hongwen & Cheng, Ken & Zhang, Meiyang, 2023. "Does geographic proximity affect firms’ cross-regional development? Evidence from high-speed rail construction in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).

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    JEL classification:

    • L2 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior

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