Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP12882
Authors: Andrew B. Bernard; Esther Boler; Swati Dhingra
Abstract: The vast majority of world trade flows is between firms. Only recently has research in international trade started to emphasize the importance of the connections between exporters and importers both in aggregate trade flows and in the negative relationship between trade and geographic distance. This chapter documents the role of firm-to-firm connections in trade flows and the formation and duration of these importer-exporter relationships. Using customs data from Colombia for 1995-2014, we are able to identify both the Colombian importing firm and the foreign exporter in every Colombian import and export transaction. We document both the nature of these bilateral trading relationships and their evolution over time.
Keywords: exporters; importers; gravity; export growth; margins of trade; heterogeneous firms
JEL Codes: F14
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| extensive margin of importer-exporter connections (F10) | aggregate country-level trade flows (F14) |
| number of connections (C39) | trade volumes (F10) |
| number of foreign partners (F10) | total firm imports (F23) |
| duration of partnerships (L14) | volume of trade (F10) |
| firm-level connections (L14) | aggregate trade flows (E10) |