Physical effort is a primary component in models of economic behavior. However, applications that measure effort are historically scarce. This paper assesses the differences in physical activity between men and women through wearable accelerometers and uses these activity measures as a proxy for...

This paper investigates the determinants of price differences and market integration among Indonesian provinces, using data from retail cooking oil, rice and sugar markets during the period 1993-2007, and from wholesale maize and soybean markets during the period 1992-2006. The authors measure...

Entering and successfully surviving in export markets is a costly process for firms. The process involves learning about the existence of foreign demand, "discovering" production costs of exportable goods, building up reputation, succeeding in product branding to reduce competitive pressures and...

With food prices on the rise, understanding the transmission of price shocks, both internationally and domestically, is central for trade policy analysis. This paper examines spatial market integration and its determinants for ten key food products in Bolivia, across the four most important...

This paper examines the extent to which policy restrictions on foreign direct investment in the Indonesian service sector affected the performance of manufacturers over the period 1997-2009. It uses firm-level data on manufacturers' total factor productivity and the OECD's foreign direct...

This paper examines export diversification along the product and market dimensions for selected countries in the Europe and Central Asia region and, more generally, export performance. While the latter is extraordinary, with average export growth rates above 10 percent, the evidence on...

Increased international production fragmentation implies that firms at home rely on imported intermediates for production. In this context, tariff policy design needs to consider the impact downstream of changes in tariffs upstream. Policy makers embarking on tariff reforms need to answer...

This paper evaluates the impact of two export finance support schemes, the Export Finance Scheme and the Long-Term Finance Facility for Plant and Machinery on firm-level export performance in Pakistan. These policies offer loans to exporters at concessionary interest rates to finance short-term...

Export responses to real exchange rate (RER) depreciations in Pakistan are lower than those to appreciations. This paper empirically documents this asymmetric response using macro-level data. It then relies on a disaggregated export product-level data set for 2003-17 to test, within a panel...

This paper examines productivity dynamics and drivers for Pakistani firms listed in the stock exchange (publicly listed firms) over 2012-17. It relies on policy and outcome measures of integration in upstream merchandise and services sectors, to assess their impact on productivity downstream....