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Market Integration, Demand and the Growth of Firms: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in India

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  • Robert T. Jensen
  • Nolan H. Miller

Abstract

In many developing countries, the average firm is small, does not grow and has low productivity. Lack of market integration and limited information on non-local products often leave consumers unaware of the prices and quality of non-local firms. They therefore mostly buy locally, limiting firms’ potential market size (and competition). The paper explores this hypothesis using a natural experiment in the Kerala boat-building industry. As consumers learn more about non-local builders, high quality builders gain market share and grow, while low quality firms exit. Aggregate quality increases, as does labor specialization, and average production costs decrease. Finally, quality-adjusted consumer prices decline.

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  • Robert T. Jensen & Nolan H. Miller, 2018. "Market Integration, Demand and the Growth of Firms: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in India," Working Papers id:12824, eSocialSciences.
  • Handle: RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:12824
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