Using firm level data, Bernard and Jensen (1995, 1999, 2001) find that exporters are bigger and more productive than non-exporters. These studies also find that the identity of exporting firms changes over time and that fixed entry and participation costs influence firm's decision to enter and...

This paper evaluates the welfare gains to trade reform in a model of endogenous export participation. Specifically, assuming that firms face an up-front, sunk cost of entering foreign markets and a smaller period-by-period continuation cost, we derive the discrete entry and exit decisions...

We develop a model of establishment dynamics consistent with the establishment level heterogeneity in exporting and productivity to analyze the welfare consequences of trade reform. Specifically, we assume that firms face an up-front, sunk cost of entering foreign markets and a smaller...

We also study the dynamics of job turnover following an unanticipated cut in tariffs. In the transition to the new steady state, we find that job turnover temporarily rises as workers are reallocated from less productive non-exporters to more productive exporters. These increases in job turnover...

This paper studies the role of international trade and the export participation decisions of establishments for the entry of establishments over the business cycle in a general equilibrium model. The model captures two key features of establishment and exporter dynamics: i) new establishments...

The authors study a variation of the Melitz (2003) model, a monopolistically competitive model with heterogeneity in productivity across establishments and fixed costs of exporting. They calibrate the model to match the employment size distribution of US manufacturing establishments. Export...

We study how the transitions following a trade reform are shaped by the time it takes for new exporters to grow in the export market. We introduce time and risk into the fixed-variable cost tradeoff central to general equilibrium heterogeneous firm trade models: Investing in exporting gradually...

The extent and direction of causation between micro volatility and business cycles are debated. We examine, empirically and theoretically, the source and effects of fluctuations in the dispersion of producer-level sales and production over the business cycle. On the theoretical side, we study...

The extent and direction of causation between micro volatility and business cycles are debated. We examine, empirically and theoretically, the source and effects of fluctuations in the dispersion of producer- level sales and production over the business cycle. On the theoretical side, we study...

The authors study the rise in U.S. manufacturing exports from 1987 to 2002 through the lens of a monopolistically competitive model with heterogeneous producers and sunk costs of exporting. Using the model, they infer that iceberg costs fell nearly 27 percent in this period. Given this change in...