An influential literature has documented large differences across countries and industries in terms of product quality. It is important to understand the determinants of these differences, because the production of high-quality goods influences key aspects of economic performance. In this paper,...

We propose a theoretical foundation for a link between North-South trade imbalances and skill upgrading. We provide robust support for our theory using a panel of US manufacturing industries observed between 1977 and 2005. Our results suggest that the impact of the US trade deficit on the...

We study, both theoretically and empirically, how trade imbalances affect the structure of countries' exports and wage inequality. We show that, in a Heckscher-Ohlin model with a continuum of goods, a Southern (Northern) trade surplus leads to an increase (reduction) in the average skill...