Market Integration, Demand, and the Growth of Firms: Evidence From a Natural Experiment in India
In many developing countries, the average firm is small, does not grow, and has low productivity. Lack of market integration and limited information on non-local products often leave consumers unaware of the prices and quality of non-local firms. They therefore mostly buy locally, limiting firms’ po...
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Veröffentlicht in: | The American economic review 2018-12, Vol.108 (12), p.3583-3625 |
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Hauptverfasser: | , |
Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
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Online-Zugang: | Volltext |
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Zusammenfassung: | In many developing countries, the average firm is small, does not grow, and has low productivity. Lack of market integration and limited information on non-local products often leave consumers unaware of the prices and quality of non-local firms. They therefore mostly buy locally, limiting firms’ potential market size (and competition). We explore this hypothesis using a natural experiment in the Kerala boat-building industry. As consumers learn more about non-local builders, high-quality builders gain market share and grow, while low-quality firms exit. Aggregate quality increases, as does labor specialization, and average production costs decrease. Finally, quality-adjusted consumer prices decline. |
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ISSN: | 0002-8282 1944-7981 |
DOI: | 10.1257/aer.20161965 |