Georgetown University LogoGeorgetown University Library LogoDigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   DigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Georgetown University Institutional Repository
    • Georgetown College
    • Department of Economics
    • Graduate Theses and Dissertations - Economics
    • View Item
    •   DigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Georgetown University Institutional Repository
    • Georgetown College
    • Department of Economics
    • Graduate Theses and Dissertations - Economics
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Essays on Multinational Firms: Strategic Trade Policy, Exporting, and Productivity

    Cover for Essays on Multinational Firms: Strategic Trade Policy, Exporting, and Productivity
    View/Open
    View/Open: umi-georgetown-1053.pdf (613kB) Bookview

    Creator
    Kumru, Utku
    Advisor
    Ludema, Rodney D.
    Abstract
    Chapter 1 explores the possibility of strategic use of antidumping duties by multinational firms. There is evidence that the subsidiaries of some multinational firms file antidumping protection from their own parents or remain inactive during the investigation period while other firms pursue protection. Using a duopoly model, I analyze this phenomenon in a two-stage capacity-constrained price competition framework. I find that in most cases, the foreign multinational corporations benefit from the antidumping duties on themselves, which deter them from exporting, thus, reduce competition in the foreign market. In some cases, the outcome is ambiguous and is determined by the costs of exporting as well as the capacity decisions of the firms.
     
    Chapter 2 studies strategic import policy in a model of capacity-constrained price competition. I consider an environment of two firms, a domestic firm and a foreign multinational firm, both producing in the domestic country. The multinational firm is able to support its local production with exports from its parent plant. Imposition of a tariff by the domestic government improves the profits of the domestic firm as in standard models of strategic trade policy, confirming the profit-shifting effects of protectionist policies. However, when initial trade costs are low enough, the multinational firm also benefits from the tariff imposition, making the net change in total domestic welfare negative. When trade is costly and the degree of differentiation between firms' products is high enough, the gain in the domestic firm's profits outweighs the loss in the consumer surplus, resulting in a net welfare gain for the domestic country.
     
    Chapter 3 adds to the empirical evidence on the direction of causality between exporting and firm performance by using firm-level data from Indian manufacturing firms. Recent empirical studies have documented the superior characteristics of exporting firms relative to non-exporters using micro-level data. There are two main hypotheses proposed to explain this gap. According to the self-selection hypothesis, it is the better firms that become exporters as these firms have a greater chance of covering the high fixed costs of serving foreign markets. The learning-by-exporting hypothesis suggests that entering export markets can result in post-entry productivity improvements. I find clear evidence on self-selection. To test the learning-by-exporting hypothesis, I use propensity score matching. Although the results indicate that there some benefits to exporting firms in the form of higher sales and capital, I do not detect any major further productivity improvements following entry into export markets.
     
    Description
    PhD
    Permanent Link
    http://hdl.handle.net/10822/558201
    Date Published
    2008
    Subject
    Multinational Strategic Trade Policy Productivity Export; Economics; Economics; Economics, General; Economics, Theory;
    Type
    thesis
    Publisher
    Georgetown University
    Extent
    130 leaves
    Collections
    • Graduate Theses and Dissertations - Economics
    Metadata
    Show full item record

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Cover for Essays on the Political Economy of Trade Policy and Trade Agreements

      Essays on the Political Economy of Trade Policy and Trade Agreements 

      Qu, Shen (Georgetown University, 2015)
      The first two chapters of this dissertation study the impact of the design of GATT/WTO trade agreements on the organization of domestic interest groups and explain several relevant empirical puzzles. Chapter 1 posits a ...
    Related Items in Google Scholar

    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2009 - 2022 Georgetown University Library
    37th & O Streets NW
    Washington DC 20057-1174
    202.687.7385
    digitalscholarship@georgetown.edu
    Accessibility
     

     

    Browse

    All of DigitalGeorgetownCommunities & CollectionsCreatorsTitlesBy Creation DateThis CollectionCreatorsTitlesBy Creation Date

    My Account

    Login

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2009 - 2022 Georgetown University Library
    37th & O Streets NW
    Washington DC 20057-1174
    202.687.7385
    digitalscholarship@georgetown.edu
    Accessibility