Over the grant’s lifetime, I successfully realized the ambitious research program of 6 projects. For each project, I consolidated the research team, developed the research design, secured proprietary data access, and managed workflow. I revised the research strategy for some projects in response to scientific developments or difficulties with the initial approach.
Taking stock, I advanced Projects 1-3 to the ultimate outcome of journal publication and Projects 4-6 to working papers, with Project 4 under review and Project 5 invited for journal revision. I widely disseminated all projects to much interest from both academic and policy audiences. I delivered 17 keynotes at high-level academic, policy and business conferences; 1 podcast; 31 presentations and 10 discussions at various conferences; and 53 university and policy seminars in Europe, US, Asia and South America.
Project 1 studied the evolution of firms’ productivity, global production line position and performance over the firm lifecycle. It showed that firms span more production stages when they grow more productive, bigger and more experienced. This is associated with higher value added, higher production costs, and higher profits. In 2021, this project was published in the top field journal, Journal of International Economics.
Project 2 analyzed the role of production networks for the extremely skewed firm size distribution. It developed a sophisticated model that permits an exact decomposition of firm size into characteristics of the firm, its upstream suppliers and its downstream buyers. The results revealed the focal role of firm-to-firm connections, and signaled the importance of two firm attributes: productivity and “matchability” to match with partners. In 2022, this project was published in the Journal of Political Economy, a top-5 general-interest journal.
Project 3 demonstrated that superior management practices improve firms’ export performance by enhancing both their production efficiency and their quality capacity. The empirical analysis was disciplined by a stylized but rich model. The results informed open questions about the drivers of export success and the impact mechanisms for managerial competence. In 2021, this project was published in the Review of Economics and Statistics, a top-7 general-interest journal.
Project 4 examined how the market structure of upstream suppliers affects the input sourcing of downstream buyers and the welfare gains from trade. Rigorous theory and consistent empirics established that more productive firms match with more suppliers, inducing tougher competition among them and lower input prices. This project is under review at Journal of Political Economy.
Project 5 assessed how a shock to a firm’s market value in one country can impact its sales worldwide by improving its reputation with foreign partners. It used cutting-edge identification to show that US patent grants enable firms to expand sales both in the patent’s jurisdiction and in other markets. This effect operates through the patent signaling the firm’s quality capacity and contract credibility. The working paper has been invited for revision at Journal of International Economics.
Project 6 evaluated how the Brexit Referendum, Brexit and the new Trade & Cooperation Agreement affected UK’s trade. It found limited anticipation and uncertainty effects of the Referendum, but a significant persistent drop in UK imports from the EU relative to the rest of the world and a smaller temporary fall in UK exports. This project informs the impact of economic policy with GVCs. The working paper has been featured in policy briefs and the popular press.
