FLEXIBILITY AND PRODUCTIVITY: TOWARD THE UNDERSTANDING OF FIRM HETEROGENEITY

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Macedoni, Luca; Xu, Mingzhi (Jimmy)
• 署名单位: Aarhus University; Peking University
• 刊物名称: INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0020-6598
• DOI: 10.1111/iere.12563
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 1055-1108
• 关键词: multiproduct firms; TRADE; export; demand

摘要

We document four new stylized facts using Chinese firm-level data to show that the standard single-attribute model of trade, in which firms only differ in productivity, must be augmented with an additional layer of heterogeneity to match the facts. To match the evidence, a model requires heterogeneity in flexibility, namely, the ability to introduce new varieties in a destination at low costs. We calibrate our model and find suggestive evidence of a trade-off between productivity and flexibility. Furthermore, we show that ignoring firm flexibility causes a large underestimation of the welfare effects of trade.