The Modern Wholesaler: Global Sourcing, Domestic Distribution, and Scale Economies†

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Ganapati, Sharat
• 署名单位: Georgetown University; Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-MICROECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7669
• DOI: 10.1257/mic.20210015
• 发表日期: 2025
• 页码: 1-40
• 关键词: discrete-choice models; product differentiation; retail markets; TRADE; prices; Intermediaries; markups; GLOBALIZATION; COMPETITION; INNOVATION

摘要

Half of all transactions in the $6 trillion market for manufactured goods in the United States were intermediated by wholesalers in 2012, up from 32 percent in 1992. Seventy percent of this increase is due to the growth of superstar firms-the largest 1 percent. Estimates based on detailed administrative data show that the rise of the largest firms was driven by an intuitive linkage between their sourcing of goods from abroad and an expansion of their domestic distribution network to reach more buyers. Both elements require scale economies and lead to increased wholesaler market shares and markups. (JEL D22, D24, F14, L15, L60, L81)