Publications
Exporting, Global Sourcing, and Multinational Activity: Theory and Evidence from the United States
(joint with Pol Antràs, Teresa Fort, and Felix Tintelnot), December 2023
Forthcoming at Review of Economics and Statistics
Abstract: Multinational firms (MNEs) dominate trade flows, yet their global production decisions are often ignored in firm-level studies of exporting and importing. Using newly merged data on US firms’ trade and multinational activity by country, we show that MNEs are more likely to trade not only with countries in which they have affiliates, but also with other countries within their affiliates’ region. We rationalize these patterns with a new source of firm-level scale economies that arises when country-specific fixed costs to source from, or sell in, a market are shared across all the firm’s plants. These shared fixed costs create interdependencies between a firm’s production and trade locations that generate third-market responses to policy changes.
Coverage: Becker Friedman Institute
Export-Platform FDI: Cannibalization or Complementarity?
(joint with Pol Antràs, Teresa Fort, and Felix Tintelnot), January 2024
Forthcoming at AEA Papers and Proceedings, long version (pdf)
Abstract: We develop a model of export-platform foreign direct investment (FDI) in which final goods are produced only with labor and there are no fixed costs of exporting. We derive a simple condition that determines whether an MNE’s plants are substitutes or complements. This condition is shaped by the relative size of (i) the cross-firm elasticity of demand the MNE faces for its goods and (ii) the within-firm elasticity of labor substitution across the MNE’s plants. In two extensions of the model, we show that this complementarity is enhanced by firm-level (rather than plant-level) fixed costs of exporting and of sourcing inputs.
Working Papers
Creative Construction: Knowledge Sharing and Cooperation Between Firms, April 2024
Abstract: Involuntary knowledge spillovers are often assumed to diffuse across a diverse range of firms. A common measure of such spillovers is patent citations. I show that citations are highly concentrated and primarily come from business partners. I provide empirical evidence suggesting that, instead of involuntary spillovers, concentrated citations reflect intentional knowledge transfers between collaborating firms. The concentration of citations has increased since 2000, indicating more selective knowledge sharing among partners. I develop a theory that shows how market forces affect knowledge flows. Firms control knowledge flows to competitors through incomplete information disclosure in patents and to partners through licensing and selective trade secret sharing. In line with the model's predictions, I provide evidence that secrecy and competition lead to more concentrated knowledge flows. The increased reliance on secrecy can explain the decline in knowledge sharing among partners.
Coverage: The Visible Hand (Episode 30), Faculti
Previous title: “Creative Construction: Knowledge Sharing in Production Networks”