We investigate theoretically and empirically the role of wholesalers in mediating the productivity effects of trade liberalization. Intermediaries provide indirect access to foreign produced inputs. The productivity effects of input tariff cuts on firms that do not directly import therefore...

This paper develops a multi-sector full-employment general equilibrium model for a typical developing country (DC hereafter) like India with internationally non-traded goods and international fragmentation in skill-intensive production, to explore the general equilibrium impact of such...

This paper develops a monopolistic competition model of multiproductfirms to explain the effect of trade liberalization on the product mix of multiproductexporting firms. The model shows that input-tariff reduction leads to increasesin a firm’s export values, especially for products that are...

This paper shows that manufacturing exporters export goods that they have not produced and thus also act as trade intermediaries. This exporting of “sourced” products is ubiquitous across firms, products, and destinations. Using the geographic dimension of the data, we uncover that almost...

This study offers a method to estimate how the availability of distance-sensitive inputs affects industrial performance of neighboring countries. It shows that replacing either distant foreign input suppliers or inefficient local ones with neighboring suppliers, could enhance the competitiveness...

Existing studies show that intermediaries can help verify or screen product quality for buyers. This paper examines this claim both theoretically and empirically in the context of international trade. We develop a heterogeneous-fi rm model that features vertical and horizontal differentiation of...