【主讲】David Jinkins (Copenhagen Business School)
【主题】Two-sided Search in International Markets
【时间】2017年10月16日 (周一) 15：30-17：00
【地点】上海财经大学经济学院楼701室
【语言】英文
【摘要】To break into global markets, either as an exporter or an importer, firms must first identify foreign business partners. And since most international partnerships are short-lived, trading firms must continually seek new connections if they wish to maintain or expand their foreign market presence. The resulting patterns of international buyer-seller connections are surprisingly fluid, and they largely determine the dynamics of firm-level trade flows.
Herein we develop a new empirical model of these search and matching processes, quantify the associated costs, and explore their implications for trade dynamics and welfare. Specifically, we develop a dynamic model of trade in consumer goods with three types of agents: foreign exporters, domestic retailers, and domestic consumers. Heterogeneous exporters and retailers engage in costly search for one another, taking stock of their current situation and the structure of the buyer-seller network. The resulting matching patterns determine which retailers carry which varieties of goods. Consumers then choose how to allocate their expenditures across retailers and the individual goods that they offer. When a retailer and an exporter form a new business relationship, they divide the associated rents in a forward-looking Nash bargaining game, thereby determining the wholesale prices at which trade occurs. The retailer then passes the goods on to domestic consumers after adding an optimal mark-up.
