Financial Choice in a Non-Ricardian Model of Trade

We join the new trade theory with a model of choice between bank and bond financing to show the differential effects of financial policy on the distribution of firm size, welfare, aggregate output, gains from trade, and the real exchange rate in a small open economy. Increasing bank efficiency and reducing bond transaction costs both increase welfare but have opposite effects on the extensive margin of trade, aggregate exports, and the real exchange rate. Increasing the degree of trade openness increases firms’ relative demand for bond versus bank financing. We identify a financial switching channel for gains from trade where increasing access to export markets allows firms to overcome high fixed costs of bond issuance to secure a lower marginal cost of capital.heterogeneity, bank, bond, firm finance, export real exchange rate

Financial choice in a non-Ricardian model of trade

We join the new trade theory with a model of choice between bank and bond financing to show the differential effects of financial policy on the distribution of firm size, welfare, aggregate output, gains from trade, and the real exchange rate in a small open economy. Increasing bank efficiency and reducing bond transaction costs both increase welfare but have opposite effects on the extensive margin of trade, aggregate exports, and the real exchange rate. Increasing the degree of trade openness increases firms' relative demand for bond versus bank financing. We identify a financial switching channel for gains from trade where increasing access to export markets allows firms to overcome high fixed costs of bond issuance to secure a lower marginal cost of capital.Trade ; Bank loans ; Bond market

Financial Choice in a Non-Ricardian Model of Trade

We join the new trade theory with a model of choice between bank and bond financing to show the differential effects of financial policy on the distribution of firm size, welfare, aggregate output, gains from trade, and the real exchange rate in a small open economy. Increasing bank efficiency and reducing bond transaction costs both increase welfare but have opposite effects on the extensive margin of trade, aggregate exports, and the real exchange rate. Increasing the degree of trade openness increases firms' relative demand for bond versus bank financing. We identify a financial switching channel for gains from trade where increasing access to export markets allows firms to overcome high fixed costs of bond issuance to secure a lower marginal cost of capital.

The path of a scholar

“The path of a scholar” is the introduction to Production, Distribution and Trade: Alternative Perspectives, a volume of essays in honour of Sergio Parrinello (edited by Adriano Birolo, Duncan Foley, Heinz Kurz, Bertram Schefold and Ian Steedman, published by Routledge, 2010). The author traces out the scientific career of Sergio Parrinello in context of the italian market for economists of the sixties and seventies of the twentieth century and critically discusses his most significant works, specially those have resulted as seminal contributions for the later development of the neo-Ricardian theory. This discussion inevitably evolves in a tentative appraisal of the meaning of the neo-Ricardian theory in the recent history of political economy.neo-Ricardian; capital controversy; history of political economy

A Floating versus Managed Exchange Rate Regime in a DSGE Model of India

We first develop a two-bloc model of an emerging open economy interacting with the rest of the world calibrated using Indian and US data. The model features a financial accelerator and is suitable for examining the effects of financial stress on the real economy. Three variants of the model are highlighted with increasing degrees of financial frictions. The model is used to compare two monetary interest rate regimes: domestic Inflation targeting with a floating exchange rate (FLEX(D)) and a managed exchange rate (MEX). Both rules are characterized as a Taylor-type interest rate rules. MEX involves a nominal exchange rate target in the rule and a constraint on its volatility. We find that the imposition of a low exchange rate volatility is only achieved at a significant welfare loss if the policymaker is restricted to a simple domestic in- flation plus exchange rate targeting rule. If on the other hand the policymaker can implement a complex optimal rule then an almost fixed exchange rate can be achieved at a relatively small welfare cost. This finding suggests that future research should examine alternative simple rules that mimic the fully optimal rule more closely. JEL Classification: E52, E37, E58DSGE model, Indian economy, monetary interest rate rules, floating versus managed exchange rate, financial frictions.

A Floating versus managed exchange rate regime in a DSGE model of India.

We first develop a two-bloc model of an emerging open economy interacting with the rest of the world calibrated using Indian and US data. The model features a financial accelerator and is suitable for examining the effects of financial stress on the real economy. Three variants of the model are highlighted with increasing degrees of financial frictions. The model is used to compare two monetary interest rate regimes: domestic Inflation targeting with a floating exchange rate (FLEX(D)) and a managed exchange rate (MEX). Both rules are characterized as a Taylor-type interest rate rules. MEX involves a nominal exchange rate target in the rule and a constraint on its volatility. We find that the imposition of a low exchange rate volatility is only achieved at a significant welfare loss if the policymaker is restricted to a simple domestic inflation plus exchange rate targeting rule. If on the other hand the policymaker can implement a complex optimal rule then an almost fixed exchange rate can be achieved at a relatively small welfare cost. This finding suggests that future research should examine alternative simple rules that mimic the fully optimal rule more closely.DSGE model, Indian economy, Monetary interest rate rules, Floating versus managed exchange rate, Financial frictions

Unpacking Sources of Comparative Advantage : A Quantitative Approach

This paper develops an approach for quantifying the importance of different sources of comparative advantage for country welfare. To explain patterns of specialization, I present a multi-country trade model that extends Eaton and Kortum (2002) to predict industry trade ows. In this framework, comparative advantage is determined by the interaction of country and industry characteristics, with countries specializing in industries whose specific production needs they are best able to meet with their factor endowments and institutional strengths. I estimate the model parameters on a large dataset of bilateral trade ows, presenting results from both a baseline OLS approach, as well as a simulated method of moments (SMM) procedure to account for the prevalence of zero trade ows in the data. I apply the model to explore various quantitative questions, in particular how much distance, Ricardian productivity, factor endowments, and institutional conditions each matter for country welfare in the global trade equilibrium. I also illustrate the shift in industry composition and the accompanying welfare gains in policy experiments where a country raises its factor endowments or improves the quality of its institutions.Comparative Advantage, bilateral trade flows, Gravity, Ricardian model, Factor Endowments, institutional determinants of trade, simulated method of moments

An Infra-marginal Analysis of the Ricardian Model

This paper applies the infra-marginal analysis, which is a combination of marginal and total cost-benefit analysis, to the Ricardian model. It demonstrates that the rule of marginal cost pricing does not always hold. It shows that in a 2x2 Ricardian model, there is a unique general equilibrium and that the comparative statics of the equilibrium involve discontinuous jumps -- as transaction efficiency improves, the general equilibrium structure jumps from autarky to partial division of labor and then to complete division of labor. The paper also discusses the effects of tariff in a model where trade regimes are endogenously chosen. It finds that (1) if partial division of labor occurs in equilibrium, the country that produces both goods chooses unilateral protection tariff, and the country producing a single good chooses unilateral laissez faire policy; (2) if complete division of labor occurs in equilibrium, the governments in both countries would prefer a tariff negotiation to a tariff war. Finally, the paper shows that in a model with three countries the country which does not have a comparative advantage relative to the other two countries and/or which has low transaction efficiency may be excluded from trade.Ricardo model, trade policy, division of labor