Working Paper: NBER ID: w15660
Authors: Andrew B. Bernard; J. Bradford Jensen; Stephen J. Redding; Peter K. Schott
Abstract: We combine data on individual trade transactions from U.S. customs records with comprehensive information on firms' employment from the Census Bureau's business register to examine wholesalers and retailers in U.S. exports and imports. Exporters and importers with 100 percent employment in wholesale and retail differ from pure "producer and consumer" trading firms along a number of dimensions: they are smaller in terms of employment, trade value and domestic sales, operate fewer U.S. establishments and are present in fewer U.S. states. "Mixed" firms, i.e., those with both production/consumption and wholesale retail within the boundaries of the firm, on the other hand, are substantially larger. They trade more products, trade with more countries, and are more likely to engage in related-party trade.
Keywords: wholesalers; retailers; trade; exports; imports
JEL Codes: F1; L8; L81
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| firm type (L20) | trade characteristics (F19) |
| wholesalers and retailers (L81) | employment, trade value, and domestic sales (F19) |
| mixed firms (L29) | trade volume (F10) |
| firm type (L20) | participation in international markets (F30) |
| product and country characteristics (L15) | participation in international markets (F30) |
| wholesalers (L81) | trade in agriculture-related sectors (Q17) |
| firm type (L20) | sensitivity to market size (D49) |