Primary commodities are used as inputs into all production processes, yet they account for approximately 16 percent of world trade. Despite their share in trade, we show that the aggregate gains from trade are largely understated if we ignore key features of commodities: low price elasticities...

International supply chains require the coordination of numerous activities across multiple countries and firms. This paper develops a theoretical model of supply chains in which the measure of tasks completed within a firm is determined by parameters that define transaction costs and the cost...

International supply chains require coordination of numerous activities across multiple countries and firms. We adapt a model of supply chains and apply it to an international trade setting. In each chain, the measure of tasks completed within a firm is determined by transaction costs and the...

The gravity equation for trade flows is one of the most successful empirical models in economics and has long played a central role in the trade literature (Anderson, 2011). Different approaches to estimate the gravity equation, i.e. reduced-form or more structural, have been proposed. This...

A growing literature has documented the role of rm heterogeneity within sectors in accounting for nominal income inequality. This paper explores the implications for household price indices across the income distribution. Using detailed matched US home and store scanner microdata, we present...

Les pays pauvres sont vulnérables aux chocs exogènes, qu’il s’agisse des prix à l’exportation ou des catastrophes naturelles, et leur situation n’est pas près de changer. L’incidence des chocs est plus élevée dans les pays aux revenus les plus faibles que dans les autres pays en...

Poor countries are and will remain for some time vulnerable to external shocks, whether to export prices or from natural disasters. The lowest-income countries have a higher incidence of shocks than other developing countries and tend to suffer larger damages when shocks occur. For the poorest...

La vulnérabilité des pays pauvres aux chocs externes liés au prix des exportations ou à des catastrophes naturelles devrait perdurer quelque temps. On constate en effet que les pays à faible revenu sont plus souvent frappés par des événements contraires de ce type – et avec des...