Welcome to my research page. 

I am currently a Professor of Economics at Duke University, a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER, Productivity; International Trade and Investment; Development) and a Research Fellow at the The Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR, Climate Change and the Environment). 

I am currently the co-editor of the American Economic Journal: Micro.   I am also an associate editor of the Rand Journal of Economics.  I previously edited the Review of Economics and Statistics (2021 - 2024) and the Journal of Development Economics (2018 - 2021). 

My research interests: Productivity/Innovation, International Trade/Industrial Organization/Development 

My research lies at the intersection of Productivity, International Trade, and Industrial Organization. My long-term research agenda is concentrated on using large-scale microdata to model and estimate a rich set of individual firm decisions, often dynamic, and to investigate how these decisions affect resource allocation, industry performance, and economic growth, especially in developing and emerging economies. 

I am interested in applying research methodologies that combine structural IO/quantitative trade techniques with quasi-random policy variations/RCT in developing countries. 

CV My Google Scholar Listing 

China Econ Lab  [A platform that facilitates high-quality research of the Chinese Economy]

Contact: daniel.xu@duke.edu

Research Papers:    

The Geographic Spillovers of Environmental Regulations: Evidence from the Clean Air Act, (slides), with M. Curtis, W. Miao, F. Soliman, and JC. Suarez Serrato

Market Congestion and Information Frictions on Global E-Commerce Platforms, Feb, 2024, with J. Bai, M. Chen, J. Liu, and X. Mu

Two-Sided Search in International Markets, January, 2022, with J. Eaton, D. Jinkins, and J. Tybout, R&R at Journal of Political Economy

Social Media Publicity and New Product Entry via Local Entrepreneurs, December, 2023, with Boya Xu and Tong Guo, Reject&Resubmit at Marketing Science

Publications:  

Regulating conglomerates in China: Evidence from an Energy Conservation Program, December, 2023, with Q. Chen, Z. Chen, Z. Liu, and J.C. Suarez-Serrato, American Economic Review, Conditionally Accepted

O-Ring Production Networks, with B. Demir, C. Fieler, and K. Yang,  Journal of Political Economy, Jan, 2024

How Costly Are Markups, Appendix with Chris Edmond and Virgiliu Midrigan, Journal of Political Economy, July, 2023 (Lead Article)

A Structural Empirical Model of R&D Investment, Firm Heterogeneity, and Industry Evolution, with Yanyou Chen, Journal of Industrial Economics, June, 2023 (Lead Article)

Tax Policy and Lumpy Investment: Evidence from China VAT Reform, Z. Chen, X. Jiang, Z. Liu, and J.C. Suarez-Serrato, Review of Economic Studies, March, 2023

Notching R&D Investment with Corporate Income Tax Cuts in China, with Z. Chen, Z. Liu, J.C. Suarez-Serrato, American Economic Review, July, 2021 (Lead Article)

Industrial Energy Regulation: The Role of Business Conglomerates in China, Q. Chen, Z. Chen, Z. Liu, and J.C. Suarez-Serrato,  American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, May, 2021

Understanding the Social Learning Effect in Contagious Switching Behavior, with Mandy Hu and Sha Yang, Management Science, July, 2019

The Role of Firm Factors in Demand, Cost, and Export Market Selection for Chinese Footwear Producers, with Mark J. Roberts, Xiaoyan Fan, and Shengxing Zhang, Review of Economic Studies, Oct, 2018

Competitors, Complementors, Parents and Places: Explaining Regional Agglomeration in the U.S. Auto Industry, with Luis Cabral and Zhu Wang, Review of Economic Dynamics, Oct, 2018 (Lead Article)  

Trade, Quality Upgrading, and Input Linkages: A Theory with Evidence from Colombia, with Ana C. Fieler and Marcela Eslava,  American Economic Review, Jan, 2018

Competition, Markups, and the Gains from International Trade, with Chris Edmond and Virgiliu Midrigan, American Economic Review, Oct, 2015

Indirect Input Linkages, with Marcela Eslava and Ana C. Fieler, American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, May, 2015 

Finance and Misallocation: Evidence from Plant-level Data, with Virgiliu Midrigan, American Economic Review, Feb, 2014

Entry, Exit, and The Determinants of Market Structure, with Timothy Dunne, Shawn Klimek, and Mark J. Roberts, Rand Journal of Economics, Fall, 2013

R&D Investment,Exporting, and Productivity Dynamics, with Bee Yan Aw and Mark J. Roberts, American Economic Review, June, 2011

Entrepreneurship and the Extensive Margin in Export Growth: A Microeconomic Accounting of Costa Rica’s Export Growth during 1997-2007, with Daniel Lederman and Andres Rodriguez-Clare, World Bank Economic Review, July, 2011

Macroeconomic Implications of Size-Dependent Policies, with Nezih Guner and Gustavo Ventura. Review of Economic Dynamics, Oct, 2008 

R&D Investment, Export, and the Evolution of Firm Productivity, with Bee Yan Aw and Mark Roberts, American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, May, 2008

How Costly are Restrictions on Size, with Nezih Guner and Gustavo Ventura, Japan and the World Economy, 2006, 18, 302-320. 

Other Publications in Books:

The Structure of Business Taxation in China, with Z. Chen, Y. He, Z. Liu, and J.C. Suarez-Serrato, Forthcoming, Tax Policy and the Economy, Oct, 2020

The Dynamics of Market Structure and Market Size in Two Health Service Industries, with Timothy Dunne, Shawn Klimek,and Mark J. Roberts, in Timothy Dunne, J. Bradford Jensen, and Mark J.Roberts (eds.) Producer Dynamics: New Evidence from Micro Data, University of Chicago Press.

Structural Analysis of Multi-Category Buyer Expenditure and Seller Entry in Two-Sided Exchange Network, with Vishal Narayan, Sha Yang, and Russ Winer, April 2013, R&R at JMR, dormant working paper