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Firms and economic performance: A view from trade

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Abstract

We use transaction-level US import data to compare firms from virtually all countries in the world competing in a single destination market. Guided by a simple theoretical framework, we decompose countries market shares into the contribution of the number of firm-products, their average attributes (quality and efficiency) and heterogeneity around the mean. To further explore the role of exceptional firms, we develop a novel decomposition that identifies the contribution of deviations from continuous distributions. We then study how the distribution of firm-level characteristics varies across countries. Our results shed new light on how firms shape aggregate economic performance.

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  • Alessandra Bonfiglioli & Rosario Crinò & Gino Gancia, 2018. "Firms and economic performance: A view from trade," Economics Working Papers 1604, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Jul 2019.
    • Handle: RePEc:upf:upfgen:1604
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    1. Bonfiglioli, Alessandra, 2020. "Comment on “Trade integration in Colombia: A dynamic general equilibrium study with new exporter dynamics”," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    US Imports; Firm Heterogeneity; International Trade; Prices; Quality; Variety; Granularity.;
    All these keywords.

    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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