Research
Publications
Experience and Market Signals in Export Entry Decisions: Theory and Evidence (World Economy, 2021)
Export entry deterrence is a result of export uncertainty, which inhibits the discovery of new exports and prevents a country from realizing its true comparative advantage. This paper examines how firms resolve uncertainty through the combination of two learning channels: learning from others and their own export experience. Using Chilean customs data (2007 - 2016), I find that early entrants have a short export duration and have little export experience. When combining the two learning channels, I find that less experienced exporters are more responsive to new information. Significantly, when observing a 10% increase in average initial export growth, less experience firms have double the entry probability compared to more experienced firms.
Working Papers
(joint with Nikita Lopatin and Joseph Westenberg)
Section 301 tariffs were imposed as a consequence of China’s discriminatory business practices against American firms. However, domestic American firms who rely on Chinese imports are now faced with paying for these tariffs. In response, the Trump administration allowed the affected firms to apply for a tariff exemptions. Approximately 7% of these applications were approved. In this paper, we investigate the factors affecting the approval rates for these tariff exemptions. We find that an increase in county Republican vote share by 10 percentage points results in a 23% increase in probability of tariff exemption approval.
Works in Progress
Multinational Companies and Self-Discovery in Exporting: Empirical Investigation of Chilean Exports between 2003 and 2016
(joint with Volodomyr Lugovskyy)