IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/srt/wpaper/0425.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Costly information and rational inattention by exporters

Author

Listed:
  • Silvia Bertarelli

    (Università degli studi di Ferrara)

Abstract

In this paper, I present a structural gravity model within a framework that considers the cost of acquiring information. This yields a structural gravity equation that incorporates an additional factor related to export dispersion. Aggregated firm-level data from a large sample of countries provides empirical evidence that dispersion influences bilateral trade flows. Dispersion acts as both a source of information and a risk factor that demands risk premia.

Suggested Citation

  • Silvia Bertarelli, 2025. "Costly information and rational inattention by exporters," SEEDS Working Papers 0425, SEEDS, Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamics Studies, revised Jun 2025.
    • Handle: RePEc:srt:wpaper:0425
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sustainability-seeds.org/papers/RePec/srt/wpaper/0425.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2025
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://www.sustainability-seeds.org/papers/RePec/srt/wpaper/0425.pdf
    File Function: Revised version, 2025
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Santos Silva, J.M.C. & Tenreyro, Silvana & Wei, Kehai, 2014. "Estimating the extensive margin of trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 67-75.
    2. James E. Anderson & Yoto V. Yotov, 2010. "The Changing Incidence of Geography," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(5), pages 2157-2186, December.
    3. Hausmann, Ricardo & Rodrik, Dani, 2003. "Economic development as self-discovery," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 603-633, December.
    4. Bertoli, Simone & Moraga, Jesús Fernández-Huertas & Guichard, Lucas, 2020. "Rational inattention and migration decisions," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    5. Koenig, Pamina & Mayneris, Florian & Poncet, Sandra, 2010. "Local export spillovers in France," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(4), pages 622-641, May.
    6. Marcela Eslava & James Tybout & David Jinkins & C. Krizan & Jonathan Eaton, 2015. "A Search and Learning Model of Export Dynamics," 2015 Meeting Papers 1535, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    7. Rauch, James E., 1999. "Networks versus markets in international trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 7-35, June.
    8. Dasgupta, Kunal & Mondria, Jordi, 2018. "Inattentive importers," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 150-165.
    9. Sims, Christopher A., 2003. "Implications of rational inattention," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 665-690, April.
    10. Eliane Choquette & Philipp Meinen, 2015. "Export Spillovers: Opening the Black Box," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(12), pages 1912-1946, December.
    11. Krautheim, Sebastian, 2012. "Heterogeneous firms, exporter networks and the effect of distance on international trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 27-35.
    12. Greenaway, David & Kneller, Richard, 2008. "Exporting, productivity and agglomeration," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(5), pages 919-939, July.
    13. Christopher A. Sims, 2006. "Rational Inattention: Beyond the Linear-Quadratic Case," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 158-163, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Walter Steingress, 2019. "Market size and entry in international trade: Product versus firm fixed costs," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(5), pages 1351-1370, November.
    2. Kuznetsova Maria, 2016. "Spatial structure and economic network formation of manufacturing exports in Russia," EERC Working Paper Series 16/08e, EERC Research Network, Russia and CIS.
    3. Bartosz Maćkowiak & Filip Matějka & Mirko Wiederholt, 2023. "Rational Inattention: A Review," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 61(1), pages 226-273, March.
    4. Roc Armenter & Michèle Müller-Itten & Zachary Strangebye, 2021. "Geometric Methods for Finite Rational Inattention," Working Papers 21-30, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    5. Kasahara, Hiroyuki & Tang, Heiwai, 2019. "Excessive entry and exit in export markets," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 1-1.
    6. Zhu, Xiangdong & He, Canfei & Gu, Zhutong, 2021. "Benefit from local or destination? The export expansion of Chinese photovoltaic industry under trade protection," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    7. Dasgupta, Kunal & Mondria, Jordi, 2018. "Inattentive importers," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 150-165.
    8. Hu, Cui & Tan, Yong, 2020. "Learning to import from neighbors," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    9. Walter Steingress, 2015. "Entry barriers to international trade: product versus firm fixed costs," Working papers 544, Banque de France.
    10. Roc Armenter & Michèle Müller‐Itten & Zachary R. Stangebye, 2024. "Geometric methods for finite rational inattention," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 15(1), pages 115-144, January.
    11. Ricardo Arguello & Andres Garcia-Suaza & Daniel Valderrama, 2020. "Exporters’ agglomeration and the survival of export flows: empirical evidence from Colombia," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 156(3), pages 703-729, August.
    12. Kamal, Fariha & Sundaram, Asha, 2016. "Buyer–seller relationships in international trade: Do your neighbors matter?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 128-140.
    13. Fernandes, Ana P. & Duanmu, Jing-Lin, 2025. "Foreign banks and firms’ export dynamics: Evidence from China’s banking reform," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    14. Ana Fernandes & Heiwai Tang, 2012. "Learning from Neighbors' Export Activities: Evidence from Exporters' Survival," Discussion Papers Series, Department of Economics, Tufts University 0766, Department of Economics, Tufts University.
    15. Maggie X. Chen & Min Wu, 2021. "The Value of Reputation in Trade: Evidence from Alibaba," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 103(5), pages 857-873, December.
    16. Bisztray, Márta & Koren, Miklós & Szeidl, Adam, 2018. "Learning to import from your peers," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 242-258.
    17. Cadot, Olivier & Fernandes, Ana M. & Gourdon, Julien & Mattoo, Aaditya, 2015. "Are the benefits of export support durable? Evidence from Tunisia," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 310-324.
    18. Magnus Lodefalk, 2016. "Temporary expats for exports: micro-level evidence," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 152(4), pages 733-772, November.
    19. Youngho Kang, 2016. "Is agglomeration a free lunch for new exporters? Evidence from Chile," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 57(1), pages 195-222, July.
    20. Roc Armenter & Michèle Müller-Itten & Zachary Stangebye, 2020. "Rational Inattention via Ignorance Equivalence," Working Papers 20-24, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:srt:wpaper:0425. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Alessandro Palma (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.sustainability-seeds.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.