The ABCs of Firm Heterogeneity When Firms Sort into Markets: The Case of Exporters

S-Tier
Journal: Journal of Political Economy
Year: 2024
Volume: 132
Issue: 4
Pages: 1162 - 1208

Authors (4)

Bernardo S. Blum (not in RePEc) Sebastian Claro (not in RePEc) Ignatius Horstmann (not in RePEc) David A. Rivers (Washington University in St. L...)

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We develop a novel methodology for disentangling the demand and cost drivers of firm heterogeneity when firms sort themselves into different markets, and we apply it to export status differences. Our methodology results in joint estimates of firm-level productivity and of markups in every market, without imposing functional form restrictions on demand. We find that exporters, relative to nonexporters, (i) have flatter domestic demand curves—thicker domestic markets—and (ii) have higher demand conditional on productivity. Finally, (iii) these demand advantages translate to foreign markets, thereby leading to export status differences.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:jpolec:doi:10.1086/727289
Journal Field
General
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-25