Standard dynamic models of structural transformation, without knife-edge and counterfactual parameter values, preclude balanced growth path (BGP) analysis. This paper develops a dynamic equilibrium concept for a more general class of models - an alternative to a BGP, which we coin a Stable...

Most aggregate theories of financial frictions model credit available at a cost of financing equal to the savings rate but rationed. However, using a comprehensive firm-level credit registry, we document both high levels and high dispersion in ex post credit spreads to Brazilian firms. We...

Fixed transaction costs and delivery lags are important costs of international trade. These costs lead firms to import infrequently and hold substantially larger inventories of imported goods than domestic goods. Using multiple sources of data, we document these facts. We then show that a...

Structural change involves a broad set of trends: (i) sectoral reallocations, (ii) rich movements of productive activities between home and market, and (iii) an increase in the scale of productive units. After extending these facts, we develop a model to explain them within a unified framework....

We document that international transactions for narrowly defined goods occur infrequently. We study the implications of this lumpiness of international trade for the response of prices and quantities during large devaluations. Using a calibrated inventory management model of international trade...

This paper examines the role of the market for high-skilled labor in explaining variation in the levels and dynamics of the service share, home production time, and market labor across countries. We establish and extend key facts for a cross-section of countries. First, growth in the total share...

The large, persistent fluctuations in international trade that cannot be explained in standard models by changes in expenditures and relative prices are often attributed to trade wedges. We show that these trade wedges can reflect the decisions of importers to change their inventory holdings. We...

The large, persistent fluctuations in international trade that cannot be explained in standard models by changes in expenditures and relative prices are often attributed to trade wedges. We show that these trade wedges can reflect the decisions of importers to change their inventory holdings. We...