This paper describes a dynamic, general equilibrium model designed to assess whether contractual imperfections in the form of limited enforcement can account for international differences in the organization of production. In the model, limited enforcement constrains some agents to operate...

Lack of full regional connectivity is one of the major constraints hindering regional growth and integration in Asia, as well as with the rest of the world. One of the conclusions of this paper is that Asia must strengthen its physical connectivity to make it a conduit for international trade...

Despite its importance, the microeconomics of the international transmission of shocks is not well understood. The conventional wisdom is that relative price changes are the primary mechanism by which shocks are transmitted across borders. Yet traded-goods prices exhibit significant inertia in...

While Germany has a very open, export-oriented manufacturing sector, to date there has been little or no research on the role of exporting in German firm performance. This paper documents the significant differences between exporters and non-exporters and attemps to identify the sources of these...

Finished goods are claiming an increasing share of U.S. imports, while their share of U.S. exports has remained virtually unchanged in recent years. These divergent developments may suggest some erosion of the United States' traditionally strong competitive position in the production of finished...