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Trade, Finance, and Endogenous Firm Heterogeneity

Author

Listed:
  • Alessandra Bonfiglioli
  • Rosario Crinò
  • Gino Gancia

Abstract

We study how financial frictions affect firm-level heterogeneity and trade. We build a model in which productivity differences across monopolistically competitive firms are endogenous and depend on investment decisions at the entry stage. By increasing entry costs, financial frictions lower the exit cutoff and hence the value of investing in bigger projects with more dispersed outcomes. As a result, financial frictions make firms smaller and more homogeneous, and hinder the volume of exports. Export opportunities, instead, shift expected profits to the tail and increase the value of technological heterogeneity. We test these predictions using comparable measures of sales dispersion within 365 manufacturing industries in 119 countries, built from highly disaggregated US import data. Consistent with the model, financial development increases sales dispersion, especially in more financially vulnerable industries; sales dispersion is also increasing in measures of comparative advantage. These results help explaining the effect of financial development and factor endowments on export sales.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessandra Bonfiglioli & Rosario Crinò & Gino Gancia, 2019. "Trade, Finance, and Endogenous Firm Heterogeneity," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(1), pages 79-130.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jeurec:v:17:y:2019:i:1:p:79-130.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jeea/jvx047
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    Cited by:

    1. Masashige Hamano & Francesco Zanetti, 2017. "Endogenous Turnover and Macroeconomic Dynamics," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 26, pages 263-279, October.
    2. Alessandra Bonfiglioli & Rosario Crinò & Gino Gancia, 2018. "Firms and Economic Performance: A View from Trade," Working Papers 1047, Barcelona School of Economics.
    3. Cheng-wei Chang & Ting-wei Lai, 2024. "Government spending and monopolistic competition with heterogeneous firm productivity," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 141(2), pages 101-135, March.
    4. Iryna Rud & Mark Vancauteren & Hendrik W.H. Roekel & Michael Polder, 2023. "The Relationship Between R&D and Exports in Goods and Services of Firms in the Netherlands: An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 283-308, December.
    5. Bonfiglioli, Alessandra & Crinò, Rosario & Gancia, Gino, 2025. "Firms and economic performance: A view from trade," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    6. Bonfiglioli, Alessandra & Crinò, Rosario & Gancia, Gino, 2021. "Concentration in international markets: Evidence from US imports," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 19-39.
    7. Reto Foellmi & Stefan Legge & Alexa Tiemann, 2021. "Innovation and trade in the presence of credit constraints," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(3), pages 1168-1205, November.
    8. Alessandra Bonfiglioli & Gino Gancia, 2019. "Heterogeneity, selection and labor market disparities," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 31, pages 305-325, January.
    9. Genthner, Robert & Kis-Katos, Krisztina, 2022. "Foreign investment regulation and firm productivity: Granular evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 668-687.
    10. Unger, Florian, 2023. "Financial Development and Export Concentration," VfS Annual Conference 2023 (Regensburg): Growth and the "sociale Frage" 277570, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    11. Crinò, Rosario & Bonfiglioli, Alessandra & Gancia, Gino, 2021. "International Trade with Heterogeneous Firms: Theory and Evidence," CEPR Discussion Papers 16249, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Alessandra Bonfiglioli & Rosario Crinò & Mattia Filomena & Gino Gancia, 2025. "Comparative Advantage in AI-Intensive Industries: Evidence from US Imports," CESifo Working Paper Series 11642, CESifo.
    13. P. Beaumont, 2017. "Time is Money: Cash-Flow Risk and Export Market Behavior," Documents de Travail de l'Insee - INSEE Working Papers g2017-10, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade

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