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 from highly disaggregated Chinese data that tariff reductions induce a country's producers to upgrade the quality of the goods that they export. The paper first documents two stylized facts regarding the effect of trade liberalization on export prices and...

This paper presents theory and evidence from highly disaggregated Chinese data that tariff reductions induce a country's producers to upgrade the quality of the goods that they export. The paper first documents two stylized facts regarding the effect of trade liberalization on export prices and...

This paper presents theory and evidence from Chinese firm-product data that, given productivity, trade liberalization via input tariff reductions induces an incumbent importer/exporter to increase product markups. This finding calls for a reconsideration of the well-established...

Using firm-level data and variations in tariff reductions across industries in China, we find that input trade liberalization is associated with lower labor markdowns. Furthermore, these pro-competitive labor market effects are more pronounced for skill-intensive firms. We then derive in a...