Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/89276 
Year of Publication: 
2010
Series/Report no.: 
LEM Working Paper Series No. 2010/19
Publisher: 
Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Pisa
Abstract: 
This paper contributes to the relatively new literature on the role of intermediaries in international trade. Using Italian firm-level data, we document significant differences between exporters of different types and highlight the role of country-specific fixed cost in the choice of direct versus indirect modes of export. Recent theoretical work suggests that intermediaries are typically providing solutions to country-specific fixed costs. Our empirical results largely confirm this relationship. Measures of country fixed costs are positively associated with intermediary exports both in the aggregate and within firms. In contrast, proxies for variable trade costs are largely not correlated with differences between direct and indirect exports.
Subjects: 
heterogeneous firms
international trade
intermediation
wholesalers
JEL: 
D22
F14
L22
L23
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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