Paper #1173

Título:

Trade liberalization, exports and technology upgrading: Evidence on the impact of MERCOSUR on Argentinean firms

Autor:

Paula Bustos

Fecha:

Agosto 2009

Resumen:

This paper studies the impact of a regional free trade agreement, MERCOSUR, on technology upgrading by Argentinean firms. To guide empirical work, I introduce technology choice in Melitz�s (2003) model of trade with heterogeneous firms. The joint treatment of the technology adoption and exporting choices shows that the increase in revenues produced by trade integration can induce exporters to upgrade technology. An empirical test of the model reveals that firms in industries facing higher reductions in Brazil�s tariffs increase their investment in technology faster. The effect of tariffs on entry in the export market and technology adoption is highest in the upper-middle range of the firm size distribution, as predicted by the model.

Palabras clave:

Trade Liberalization, Heterogeneous Firms, Exports, Technology Adoption, MERCOSUR, Argentina.

Códigos JEL:

D21, F12, F14, L60, O30.

Área de investigación:

Macroeconomía y Economía Internacional

Publicado en:

American Economic Review, 101 (1), 304-340, 2011.

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