The Modern Wholesaler: Global Sourcing, Domestic Distribution, and Scale Economies

B-Tier
Journal: American Economic Journal: Microeconomics
Year: 2025
Volume: 17
Issue: 1
Pages: 1-40

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

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

Abstract

Half of all transactions in the $6 trillion market for manufactured goods in the United States were intermediated by wholesalers in 2012, up from 32 percent in 1992. Seventy percent of this increase is due to the growth of "superstar" firms—the largest 1 percent. Estimates based on detailed administrative data show that the rise of the largest firms was driven by an intuitive linkage between their sourcing of goods from abroad and an expansion of their domestic distribution network to reach more buyers. Both elements require scale economies and lead to increased wholesaler market shares and markups.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aejmic:v:17:y:2025:i:1:p:1-40
Journal Field
General
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-25