We document that international transactions for narrowly defined goods occur infrequently. We study the implications of this lumpiness of international trade for the response of prices and quantities during large devaluations. Using a calibrated inventory management model of international trade...

We first study export dynamics in a number of large devaluation episodes in emerging markets. Using plant level data, we document that exports expand gradually following a large devaluation primarily because the number of exporters expands gradually. We further show the strong negative...

We study export dynamics in a number of large devaluation episodes in emerging markets. Using plant level data, we document that exports expand gradually following a large devaluation primarily because the number of exporters expands gradually. We show that a model of exporter dynamics with sunk...

We decompose the change in the U.S. export share of GDP into an intensive and extensive margin. We then use a model of establishment export dynamics to infer the change in marginal and fixed trade costs from 1976 to 2002. We find the fall in tariffs and transport costs account for approximately...

We develop a model of establishment dynamics consistent with the establishment level heterogeneity in exporting and productivity to analyze the welfare consequences of trade reform. Specifically, we assume that firms face an up-front, sunk cost of entering foreign markets and a smaller...

We also study the dynamics of job turnover following an unanticipated cut in tariffs. In the transition to the new steady state, we find that job turnover temporarily rises as workers are reallocated from less productive non-exporters to more productive exporters. These increases in job turnover...

This paper studies export dynamics in emerging markets following large devaluations. We document two main features of exports that are puzzling for standard trade models. First, given the change in relative prices, exports tend to grow gradually following a devaluation. Second, high interest...

The large, persistent fluctuations in international trade that can not be explained in standard models by either changes in expenditures or relative prices are often attributed to trade wedges. We show that these trade wedges can reflect the decisions of importers to change their inventory...

This paper studies the role of international trade and the export participation decisions of establishments for the entry of establishments over the business cycle in a general equilibrium model. The model captures two key features of establishment and exporter dynamics: i) new establishments...

We study the growth in the share of US manufactured output exported from 1987 to 2002 through the lens of the Melitz (2003) model, a monopolistically competitive model with heterogenous producers and fixed costs of exporting. Using the model, we infer that iceberg costs fell from approximately...