We document how a plant-specific shock to investment opportunities at one plant of a firm ("treated plant") spills over to other plants of the same firm-but only if the firm is financially constrained. While the shock triggers an increase in investment and employment at the treated plant, this...

This paper undertakes an in-depth analysis of the tire industry over the period 1970-1990. It attempts to uncover the causes and consequences of the acquisition activity in the industry in the 1980’s, which resulted in all but one large U.S. tire manufacturer being sold to foreign companies....

Minority owned businesses are an increasing important component of the U.S. economy, growing at twice the rate of all U.S. businesses between 2002 and 2007. However, a growing literature indicates that minority-owned businesses may have been especially impacted by the Great Recession. As house...

As part of processing the Census of Manufactures, the Census Bureau edits some data items and imputes for missing data and some data that is deemed erroneous. Until recently it was difficult for researchers using the plant-level microdata to determine which data items were changed or imputed...

This paper analyzes how firms decide where to patent in a heterogeneous firm model of trade with endogenous rival entry. In the model, innovating firms compete with rival firms on price, where rivals force the innovating firm to reduce markups and lower the innovating firm's probability of...

This study uses a sample of unemployed workers constructed from the American Community Survey and the LEHD database, to compare the unemployment durations of those who find subsequent employment by relocating to a metropolitan area outside of their originally observed residence, versus those who...

Adaptive Design methods for social surveys utilize the information from the data as it is collected to make decisions about the sampling design. In some cases, the decision is either to continue or stop the data collection. We evaluate this decision by proposing measures to compare the collected...

This paper links data on establishments and individuals to analyze the role of establishments in the increase in inequality that has become a central topic in economic analysis and policy debate. It decomposes changes in the variance of ln earnings among individuals into the part due to changes...

Using confidential U.S. customs data on trade transactions between U.S. importers and Bangladeshi exporters between 2002 and 2009, and information on the geographic location of Bangladeshi exporters, we show that the presence of neighboring exporters that previously transacted with a U.S....

This paper uses confidential U.S. Customs data on U.S. importers and their Chinese exporters toinvestigate the frictions from changing exporting partners. High costs from switching partners can affect the efficiency of buyer-supplier matches by impeding the movement of importers from high to...