Working Paper: NBER ID: w17627
Authors: Andrew B. Bernard; J. Bradford Jensen; Stephen J. Redding; Peter K. Schott
Abstract: This paper reviews the empirical evidence on firm heterogeneity in international trade. A first wave of empirical findings from micro data on plants and firms proposed challenges for existing models of international trade and inspired the development of new theories emphasizing firm heterogeneity. Subsequent empirical research has examined additional predictions of these theories and explored other dimensions of the data not originally captured by them. These other dimensions include multi-product firms, offshoring, intra-firm trade and firm export market dynamics.
Keywords: firm heterogeneity; international trade; exporting; productivity
JEL Codes: F10; F12; F14
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| High productivity (O49) | self-selection into exporting (F10) |
| Trade liberalization (F13) | reallocation of resources from low-productivity to high-productivity firms (J68) |
| Exporting (F10) | firm productivity (D22) |
| High productivity (O49) | entry into export markets (F10) |
| Trade liberalization (F13) | exit of low-productivity firms (J63) |
| High productivity (O49) | expansion of high-productivity firms (L25) |