Discrete trade

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Lashkaripour, Ahmad
• 署名单位: Indiana University System; Indiana University Bloomington
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1996
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2020.103363
• 发表日期: 2020
• 关键词: Discrete; Indivisible; Quality specialization; pricing to market; Non-traded; services; gains from trade; Scale effects; Big push; Home-market effect

摘要

International quality specialization (IQS) and pricing-to-market (PTM) are two of the most studied phenomena in international trade. I present new evidence that PTM and IQS are significantly more pronounced in discrete industries that involve indivisible consumption goods. In light of this observation, I develop a generalized model of international trade that accommodates both discrete and continuous industries. I argue that IQS and PTM indiscrete industries are magnified by (i) affordability constraints, and (ii) cross-country differences in the price of non-traded services-both of which are less relevant in continuous industries. This prediction finds support from micro-level trade data. I then map the discrete model to macro-level data and show that the unique forces underlying the model shed fresh light on the gains from trade and the big-push effects of globalization. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.