Recent models of trade with firm heterogeneity predict that opening to trade reduces the number of firms, increases the average size of firms, and decreases firms’ markups. This paper uses a large dataset for 28 manufacturing industries and 46 countries to test these predictions. The...

This paper examines the effect of real exchange rate volatility on the intensive margin and the extensive margin of exports. Using highly disaggregated U.S. import data by product and country of origin, and a methodology that takes into account the possible endogeneity of volatility to trade,...

This paper examines the effect of changes in the real exchange rate on skill upgrading in the case of Chile. Using plant-level data from the manufacturing sector we find that a real depreciation increases the share of skilled workers in the total wage bill in exporters but not in non-exporters....

Recent models of international trade show that trade costs are important determinants of exporting decisions and productivity dynamics. By assuming that these costs are exogenous and constant across firms, these theories do not take into account that experienced firms may have lower trading...

Using plant-level data from Chile’s manufacturing sector for the period 1990-2000, this paper examines the effect of financial development on the probability of exporting at the plant level, with a special focus on the heterogeneous responses of plants with different characteristics. The main...

This paper explores the additional difficulties that smaller exporters could have faced during the recent financial crisis, specifically regarding their access to the exchange rate derivatives market. Using data of international trade and derivatives transactions between commercial banks and...

The Chilean economy underwent a deep structural change in the mid-seventies, through several economic reforms. Among these, the most impressive one was trade liberalization. This process caused a string of bankruptcies in the manufacturing industry and a reduction in the share of this sector in...

Using a large dataset of countries, covering the period 1962-2000, this paper analyzes the main determinants of export diversification (concentration). We explore the role of several factors and we use three different indicators of export concentration. We find robust evidence across...

Chile has supported its agriculture with the use of price bands on selected commodities namely wheat, vegetable oils and fats, and sugar. In this paper we consider agricultural reform and how urban unemployment, and rural-urban migration, may alter the expected welfare effects of agricultural...