In Search of the Armington Elasticity

A-Tier
Journal: Review of Economics and Statistics
Year: 2018
Volume: 100
Issue: 1
Pages: 135-150

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

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

Abstract

How big is the elasticity of substitution between goods from different countries—the Armington elasticity? Estimates of the macroelasticity between home and imported goods are often smaller than the microelasticity between foreign sources of imports. Using new, highly disaggregate U.S. production data matched to imports and simulated data from a Melitz-style model with nested CES preferences, we explore estimation techniques for the two elasticities. For between two-thirds and three-quarters of sample goods, there is no significant difference between the macro- and microelasticities, but for the rest, the microelasticity is significantly higher, even at the same level of disaggregation.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:tpr:restat:v:100:y:2018:i:1:p:135-150
Journal Field
General
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-25