This thesis contributes to the international trade literature by exploring the joint determinants of firm level sales, product range and trade dynamics, on both an empirical and a theoretical level. In the first chapter of the thesis, "A Quantitative Model of International Trade and Multi-Product Firm Dynamics," I first summarize key stylized facts obtained from my empirical work with a unique data set that describes the detailed trade patterns of all Danish firms from 1993 to 2003. I then develop a structural, general equilibrium model of international trade and firm dynamics consistent with these facts and I calibrate the model to the Danish data through a simple stepwise procedure. The model is then used to quantify both the current gains from international trade and the potential gains from further reductions in trade barriers. I find that the current gains from trade implied by the model are relatively small and range from 0 to 10 percent, but that additional reductions in trade barriers would have a substantial impact on welfare. The two last chapters of the thesis are empirical. In chapter two, "Heterogeneous Firms in International Trade: The Danish evidence", I characterize the distribution of export market participation, export-intensities as well as the distribution of products across Danish manufacturing firms and analyze the joint distribution of firm level export market participation and firm characteristics. The empirical evidence suggests that the selection process into foreign markets, applies at both the firm level and at the product level; the best firms export- and firms export their best products to more markets.;In the third chapter, "Export Market Entry, Exit and Sales Dynamics: Evidence from Denmark", I exploit the unique panel dimension of the Danish data, which allows me to examine the dynamics of export market participation at the firm level for all Danish firms over the eleven year sample period. Overall, I show that firm level expansion into international markets is a inherently dynamic and highly persistent process in both time and space.
展开▼
