Information asymmetries constitute a significant obstacle to capital flows across international borders, and in particular to flows of foreign investment (FDI) to emerging markets.  Many governments aim to reduce information barriers by emerging in investment promotion activities.  Despite...

The debate on trade and growth increasingly focuses on the composition of exports.  Exports of more "sophisticated" products appear to be positively correlated with growth, and upgrading the quality of exports is high on the policy agenda of many countries.  This study presents evidence...

The spatial distribution of oil is determined by natural geography alone. However, we show that the distribution of oil exploration is affected by the quality of countries’ institutions. A global data set on the precise location of oil wells and national borders allows for a regression...

While the impact of globalization on income inequality has received a lot of attention, little is known about its effect on the gender wage gap (GWG).  This study argues that there is a systematic difference in the GWG between exporting firms and non-exporters.  By the virtue of being exposed...

We develop a new model of multi-product firms which invest to improve both the quality of their individual products and of their brand.  Because of flexible manufacturing, products closer to firms' core competence have lower costs, so they produce more of them, and also have higher incentives...

Interconnections among financial institutions create potential channels for contagionand amplification of shocks to the financial system. Contagion occurs when a shock tothe assets of a single firm causes other firms to default through the network of obligations.We say that contagion is weak if...

This paper uses micro data from the Indonesian Census of Manufacturing to analyze the causal relationship between foreign ownership and various aspects of plant performance.  It examines the implications of foreign ownership in three different contexts: entry of foreign investors through...