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Editors' Preface

Editors' Preface It is probably fair to say that historically much research in international trade has been theory driven. Theoretical frameworks such as the Ricardian model, the Heckscher–Ohlin model, and the New Trade models have held a central place, and whenever empirical evidence appeared to reject theory (as for example in the case of the Heckscher–Ohlin model), trade economists talked about a paradox rather than questioning the model. In contrast, the recent literature on firms and trade has been profoundly influenced by data. With the emergence of highly detailed firm‐level datasets, research in international trade has increasingly focused on firms and products in addition to countries and industries. This shift in emphasis is driven by a wealth of evidence, indicating that firms which trade differ substantially from those which do not. Across a wide range of countries and industries, exporters have been shown to be larger, more productive, more skill‐ and capital‐intensive, and to pay higher wages than non‐trading firms. These observed differences between exporter and non‐exporter firms have led to the development of new heterogeneous‐firm theories of international trade. The new theories not only account for the observed features of micro datasets on firms and plants, but also generate http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Scandinavian Journal of Economics Wiley

Editors' Preface

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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© The editors of the Scandinavian Journal of Economics 2009
ISSN
0347-0520
eISSN
1467-9442
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-9442.2009.01581.x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

It is probably fair to say that historically much research in international trade has been theory driven. Theoretical frameworks such as the Ricardian model, the Heckscher–Ohlin model, and the New Trade models have held a central place, and whenever empirical evidence appeared to reject theory (as for example in the case of the Heckscher–Ohlin model), trade economists talked about a paradox rather than questioning the model. In contrast, the recent literature on firms and trade has been profoundly influenced by data. With the emergence of highly detailed firm‐level datasets, research in international trade has increasingly focused on firms and products in addition to countries and industries. This shift in emphasis is driven by a wealth of evidence, indicating that firms which trade differ substantially from those which do not. Across a wide range of countries and industries, exporters have been shown to be larger, more productive, more skill‐ and capital‐intensive, and to pay higher wages than non‐trading firms. These observed differences between exporter and non‐exporter firms have led to the development of new heterogeneous‐firm theories of international trade. The new theories not only account for the observed features of micro datasets on firms and plants, but also generate

Journal

The Scandinavian Journal of Economics – Wiley

Published: Dec 1, 2009

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