This paper presents theory and evidence from highly disaggregated Chinese data that tariff reductions induce exporters to upgrade product quality. The paper documents two stylized facts and develops a simple analytic framework to predict that import tariff reductions induce an incumbent...

This paper presents theory and evidence from Chinese firm-product data that, given firm productivity, trade liberalization increases product markups. This finding calls for a reconsideration of the well-established imports-as-market-discipline hypothesis. This paper further verifies underlying...

This paper presents theory and evidence that tighter credit constrains force firms to produce lower quality. The paper develops a quality sorting model that predicts that tighter credit constraints faced by a firm reduce its optimal prices due to its choice of lower-quality products. Conversely,...