China´s import penetration in Chilean markets is higher in unskilled-labor intensive sectors as predicted by traditional endowment-based theories of comparative advantage. However, there is also evidence of within-industry specialization. In particular, high-income countries receive higher...

We use comparable micro level panel data for 14 countries and a set of identically specified empirical models to investigate the relationship between exports and productivity. Our overall results are in line with the big picture that is by now familiar from the literature: Exporters are more...

There are several arguments in the literature regarding that more open economies would grow faster in the long term. Nevertheless, the channels through which openness increases growth have not been clearly identified in empirical analysis. In this article, we study if outward orientation...

In this paper we study total factor productivity (TFP) catching-up using 20 years of plant-level data for Chilean manufacturing. The paper addresses two key issues: First, we analyze whether there is evidence that low productivity plants experience larger TFP growth than those closer to the...

In this paper we estimate the exchange rate pass-through (ERPT) into disaggregated import price data at monthly frequency. We work with import prices both at the border and at the wholesale level, and our results are consistent with the idea of a high ERPT— complete in the long-run—which has...

This paper evaluates the impact of recent cost shocks (i.e. energy price) on the productivity of Chilean manufacturing plants. Using information for the period 1992-2005, we quantify and analyze whether this effect has been heterogeneous across plants, according to their energy intensity and...

This paper addresses the way optimal cash holdings decisions may be affected in episodes of adverse liquidity shocks. Motivated by the recent financial crisis, we are particularly interested in understanding how firm characteristics can explain differences in the adjustment speed to desired cash...

Using a large dataset of countries during the last forty years, this paper analyzes the main determinants of export diversification. We explore the role of several factors and we use three different indicators of export diversification. We find robust evidence across specifications and...

Using a rich dataset of Chilean exporters, we analyze several issues related to the relationship between entry into export markets and product quality. We find that every year a large number of new exporting relationships are initiated, with either new firms or existent ones that begin...