IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aea/aecrev/v114y2024i7p1949-85.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Misallocation under Trade Liberalization

Author

Listed:
  • Yan Bai
  • Keyu Jin
  • Dan Lu

Abstract

This paper formalizes a classic idea that in second-best environments trade can induce welfare losses: incremental income losses from distortions can outweigh trade gains. In a Melitz model with distortionary taxes, we derive sufficient statistics for welfare gains/losses and show departures from the efficient case (Arkolakis, Costinot, and Rodríguez-Clare 2012) can be captured by the gap between an input and output share and domestic extensive margin elasticities. The loss reflects an endogenous selection of more subsidized firms into exporting. Using Chinese manufacturing data in 2005 and model-inferred firm-level distortions, we demonstrate that a sizable negative fiscal externality can potentially offset conventional gains.

Suggested Citation

  • Yan Bai & Keyu Jin & Dan Lu, 2024. "Misallocation under Trade Liberalization," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 114(7), pages 1949-1985, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:114:y:2024:i:7:p:1949-85
    DOI: 10.1257/aer.20200596
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/aer.20200596
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.3886/E195946V1
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/aer.20200596.appx
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/aer.20200596.ds
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to AEA members and institutional subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1257/aer.20200596?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Asturias, Jose & Hur, Sewon & Kehoe, Timothy J. & Ruhl, Kim J., 2016. "The interaction and sequencing of policy reforms," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 45-66.
    2. Chang, Roberto & Kaltani, Linda & Loayza, Norman V., 2009. "Openness can be good for growth: The role of policy complementarities," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 33-49, September.
    3. Wu, Guiying Laura, 2018. "Capital misallocation in China: Financial frictions or policy distortions?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 203-223.
    4. Diego Restuccia & Richard Rogerson, 2008. "Policy Distortions and Aggregate Productivity with Heterogeneous Plants," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 11(4), pages 707-720, October.
    5. Chong-en Bai & Chang-Tai Hsieh & Zheng Song, 2020. "Special Deals with Chinese Characteristics," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(1), pages 341-379.
    6. Andrew B. Bernard & Stephen J. Redding & Peter K. Schott, 2007. "Comparative Advantage and Heterogeneous Firms," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 74(1), pages 31-66.
    7. Joel M. David & Venky Venkateswaran, 2019. "The Sources of Capital Misallocation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(7), pages 2531-2567, July.
    8. Marc J. Melitz, 2003. "The Impact of Trade on Intra-Industry Reallocations and Aggregate Industry Productivity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 71(6), pages 1695-1725, November.
    9. Amit K. Khandelwal & Peter K. Schott & Shang-Jin Wei, 2013. "Trade Liberalization and Embedded Institutional Reform: Evidence from Chinese Exporters," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(6), pages 2169-2195, October.
    10. Yan Bai & Dan Lu & Xu Tian, 2018. "Do Financial Frictions Explain Chinese Firms’ Saving and Misallocation?," NBER Working Papers 24436, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Chang-Tai Hsieh & Peter J. Klenow, 2009. "Misallocation and Manufacturing TFP in China and India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(4), pages 1403-1448.
    12. Thomas Sampson, 2016. "Dynamic Selection: An Idea Flows Theory of Entry, Trade, and Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(1), pages 315-380.
    13. Trevor Tombe & Xiaodong Zhu, 2019. "Trade, Migration, and Productivity: A Quantitative Analysis of China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(5), pages 1843-1872, May.
    14. Bils, Mark & Klenow, Peter J. & Ruane, Cian, 2021. "Misallocation or Mismeasurement?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(S), pages 39-56.
    15. Jagdish N. Bhagwati, 1968. "Distortions and Immiserizing Growth: a Generalization," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 35(4), pages 481-485.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Andrea Lanteri & Pamela Medina & Eugene Tan, 2023. "Capital-Reallocation Frictions and Trade Shocks," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 190-228, April.
    2. Manova, Kalina & Berthou, Antoine & Sandoz, Charlotte & Chung, John Jong-Hyun, 2019. "Trade, Productivity and (Mis)allocation," CEPR Discussion Papers 14203, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Richard Hornbeck & Martin Rotemberg, 2019. "Railroads, Reallocation, and the Rise of American Manufacturing," NBER Working Papers 26594, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Tetenyi, Laszlo, 2019. "Trade, misallocation, and capital market integration," IWH-CompNet Discussion Papers 8/2019, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    5. Anderson, Ronald W., 2020. "Who bears risk in China's non-financial enterprise debt?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118879, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Mark Bils, 2017. "Misallocation or Mismeasurement?," 2017 Meeting Papers 715, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    7. Li, Xiaolu & Ma, Lin & Tang, Yang, 2024. "Migration and resource misallocation in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    8. Farrokhi, Farid & Lashkaripour, Ahmad & Pellegrina, Heitor S., 2024. "Trade and technology adoption in distorted economies," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    9. Bils, Mark & Klenow, Peter J. & Ruane, Cian, 2021. "Misallocation or Mismeasurement?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(S), pages 39-56.
    10. Anderson, Ronald, 2020. "Who Bears Risk in China's Non-financial Enterprise Debt?," CEPR Discussion Papers 15135, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. David Kohn & Fernando Leibovici & Michal Szkup, 2021. "Financial Frictions and International Trade," Documentos de Trabajo 563, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
    12. Siying Ding & Ahmad Lashkaripour & Volodymyr Lugovskyy, 2024. "A Global Perspective on the Incidence of Monopoly Distortions," CESifo Working Paper Series 11211, CESifo.
    13. Maria D. Tito & Ruoying Wang, 2021. "Misallocation in Open Economy," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2021-007, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    14. Laszlo Tetenyi, 2021. "Trade, Misallocation, and Capital Market Integration," Working Papers w202119, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    15. Kaoru Hosono & Miho Takizawa, 2022. "Japan's productivity stagnation: Using dynamic Hsieh–Klenow decomposition," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(1), pages 218-232, January.
    16. Huang, Yi & Sheng, Liugang & Wang, Gewei, 2021. "How did rising labor costs erode China’s global advantage?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 632-653.
    17. Feng, Xiao & Wang, Yongjin & Zhao, Laixun, 2022. "Export capacity constraints and distortions," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    18. Xie, Enze & Xu, Mingzhi & Yu, Miaojie, 2024. "Trade liberalization, labor market power, and misallocation across firms: Evidence from China's WTO accession," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jin, Keyu, 2019. "Misallocation Under Trade Liberalization," CEPR Discussion Papers 13976, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Zhang, Teng & Xu, Shu & Zhang, Shuoxun, 2022. "Are export tax rebates patronage for Chinese firms? An analysis of productivity," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    3. Li, Xiaolu & Ma, Lin & Tang, Yang, 2024. "Migration and resource misallocation in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    4. Diego Restuccia & Richard Rogerson, 2017. "The Causes and Costs of Misallocation," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 31(3), pages 151-174, Summer.
    5. Berkowitz, Daniel & Nishioka, Shuichiro, 2024. "The growth of firms, markets and rents: Evidence from China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 383-399.
    6. van der Geest, Jesse, 2024. "Economic effects of tax avoidance and compliance," Other publications TiSEM aaca33bf-975d-4e21-9b5f-5, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    7. Cheng Chen & Wei Tian & Miaojie Yu, 2019. "Outward FDI and Domestic Input Distortions: Evidence from Chinese Firms," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(624), pages 3025-3057.
    8. Wang, Wenya & Yang, Ei, 2023. "Multi-product firms and misallocation," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    9. Chen, Guowen & Herrera, Ana María & Lugauer, Steven, 2022. "Policy and misallocation: Evidence from Chinese firm-level data," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    10. Zhou, Fujin & Oostendorp, Remco, 2024. "Big distortions, small efficiency loss: Measuring resource misallocation with complementary distortions in Vietnam," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 219(C), pages 244-261.
    11. Ding, Sai & Jiang, Wei & Li, Shengyu & Wei, Shang-Jin, 2024. "Fiscal policy volatility and capital misallocation: Evidence from China," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    12. Le Tang & Jun Zhang & Jim Huangnan Shen, 2024. "Capital misallocation in Chinese industrial firms," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 71(1), pages 75-100, February.
    13. Rosario Crinò & Gino Gancia & Alessandra Bonfiglioli, 2018. "Firms and Economic Performance: A View from Trade," Working Papers 1034, Barcelona School of Economics.
    14. Felipe Saffie & Liliana Varela & Kei-Mu Yi, 2020. "The Micro and Macro Dynamics of Capital Flows," NBER Working Papers 27371, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Loren Brandt & Gueorgui Kambourov & Kjetil Storesletten, 2018. "Barriers to Entry and Regional Economic Growth in China," Working Papers tecipa-622, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    16. Jiang, Zheng & Shi, Huimin, 2016. "The selection of firms based on productivity: different roles of entry and overhead cost," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 537-544.
    17. Bento, Pedro & Restuccia, Diego, 2021. "On average establishment size across sectors and countries," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 220-242.
    18. Costinot, Arnaud & Rodríguez-Clare, Andrés, 2014. "Trade Theory with Numbers: Quantifying the Consequences of Globalization," Handbook of International Economics, in: Gopinath, G. & Helpman, . & Rogoff, K. (ed.), Handbook of International Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 0, pages 197-261, Elsevier.
    19. Diego Restuccia, 2019. "Misallocation and aggregate productivity across time and space," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 52(1), pages 5-32, February.
    20. Francesca de Nicola & Norman Loayza & Ha Nguyen, 2024. "Productivity loss and misallocation of resources in Southeast Asia," Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 2152-2169, October.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • L60 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - General
    • O19 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations
    • P31 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Socialist Enterprises and Their Transitions
    • P33 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - International Trade, Finance, Investment, Relations, and Aid

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:114:y:2024:i:7:p:1949-85. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Michael P. Albert (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aeaaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.