Economics Seminar（2013-01）

Topic: Static and Dynamic Gains from Importing Intermediate Inputs: Theory and Evidence

Speaker：Hongsong Zhang
Affiliation: Penn State University

Time：2:00-3:30pm, Tuesday, Feb. 26
Location：Room 217, Guanghua New Building

Abstract:
This paper constructs a dynamic structural model to characterize firms' decisions to buy imported inputs or rely exclusively on domestically-supplied inputs and quantifies their effects on firm value and productivity. The model provides a unified framework to analyze the determinants of firms' import decisions and to empirically decompose the gains from importing into a static effect and a dynamic effect. Empirical results using Colombian plant-level data show that more productive plants tend to import intermediate inputs and that the total gain from importing is large. The decomposition shows importing is important mostly because it dynamically generates higher future productivity growth.

Both paper and CV are attached. Your participation is warmly welcomed!