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Middlemen Margins And Globalization

Author

Listed:
  • Dilip Mookherjee

    (Department of Economics, Boston University)

  • Pranab Bardhan

    (Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley)

  • Masatoshi Tsumagari

    (Department of Economics, Keio University)

Abstract

We provide a competitive theory of middlemen or entrepreneurs who develop brand-name reputations necessary to overcome product quality moral hazard problems, embedded in a Heckscher-Ohlin model of North-South trade. Agents with heterogeneous entrepreneurial abil- ities sort into different sectors and occupations, with endogenous inter- sectoral mobility. In some contexts competitive equilibrium is charac- terized by restricted inter-sectoral mobility; bene ts of trade liberal- ization in the South accrue disproportionately to middlemen, North- South factor price differences grow, and offshoring reduces inequality in the South. In other contexts there is enough mobility; classical Stolper-Samuelson and factor price equalization results hold.

Suggested Citation

  • Dilip Mookherjee & Pranab Bardhan & Masatoshi Tsumagari, 2011. "Middlemen Margins And Globalization," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series WP2011-034, Boston University - Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bos:wpaper:wp2011-034
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Marianna Belloc & Samuel Bowles, 2009. "International Trade, Factor Mobility and the Persistence of Cultural-Institutional Diversity," UMASS Amherst Economics Working Papers 2009-08, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Economics.
    2. Donaldson, Dave & Atkin, David, 2015. "Who?s Getting Globalized? The Size and Implications of Intra-national Trade Costs," CEPR Discussion Papers 10759, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Dhingra, Swati & Tenreyro, Silvana, 2020. "The Rise of Agribusiness and the Distributional Consequences of Policies on Intermediated Trade," CEPR Discussion Papers 14384, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Lauren Falcao Bergquist & Michael Dinerstein, 2020. "Competition and Entry in Agricultural Markets: Experimental Evidence from Kenya," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(12), pages 3705-3747, December.
    5. David Atkin & Amit K. Khandelwal, 2020. "How Distortions Alter the Impacts of International Trade in Developing Countries," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 12(1), pages 213-238, August.
    6. Dhingra, Swati & Tenreyro, Silvana, 2021. "The Rise of Agribusinesses and its Distributional Consequences," CEPR Discussion Papers 15942, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Horst Raff & Nicolas Schmitt, 2016. "Manufacturers and retailers in the global economy," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 49(2), pages 685-706, May.
    8. Dasgupta, Kunal & Mondria, Jordi, 2018. "Quality uncertainty and intermediation in international trade," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 68-91.
    9. Nancy H. Chau & Hideaki Goto & Ravi Kanbur, 2016. "Middlemen, fair traders, and poverty," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 14(1), pages 81-108, March.
    10. Gary Biglaiser & Fei Li & Charles Murry & Yiyi Zhou, 2020. "Intermediaries and product quality in used car markets," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 51(3), pages 905-933, September.
    11. Parisa Kamali, 2019. "Exporting Through Intermediaries: Impact on Export Dynamics and Welfare," IMF Working Papers 2019/302, International Monetary Fund.
    12. Swati Dhingra, 2016. "Piggy-Back Exporting, Intermediation, and the Distributional Gains from Trade in Agricultural Markets," 2016 Meeting Papers 712, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    13. Jie Bai & Ludovica Gazze & Yukun Wang, 2019. "Collective Reputation in Trade: Evidence from the Chinese Dairy Industry," CID Working Papers 366, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    14. Jie Bai & Ludovica Gazze & Yukun Wang, 2019. "Collective Reputation in Trade: Evidence from the Chinese Dairy Industry," NBER Working Papers 26283, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Macchiavello, Rocco & Miquel-Florensa, Josepa, 2019. "Buyer-Driven Upgrading in GVCs: The Sustainable Quality Program in Colombia," CEPR Discussion Papers 13935, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    16. Sandip Mitra & Dilip Mookherjee & Maximo Torero & Sujata Visaria, 2013. "Asymmetric Information and Middleman Margins: An Experiment with West Bengal Potato Farmers," Working Papers id:5545, eSocialSciences.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    middlemen; reputation; inequality; trade liberalization; North-South trade;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D33 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Factor Income Distribution
    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements

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