Wholesalers and Retailers in U.S. Trade (Long Version)

12 Pages Posted: 18 Jan 2010 Last revised: 17 Apr 2022

See all articles by Andrew B. Bernard

Andrew B. Bernard

Dartmouth College - Tuck School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

J. Bradford Jensen

Georgetown University - McDonough School of Business; Peterson Institute for International Economics

Stephen J. Redding

Princeton University

Peter K. Schott

Yale University - School of Management; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Yale University - Cowles Foundation

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: January 2010

Abstract

We combine data on individual trade transactions from U.S. customs records with comprehensive information on firms' employment from the Census Bureau's business register to examine wholesalers and retailers in U.S. exports and imports. Exporters and importers with 100 percent employment in wholesale and retail differ from pure "producer and consumer" trading firms along a number of dimensions: they are smaller in terms of employment, trade value and domestic sales, operate fewer U.S. establishments and are present in fewer U.S. states. "Mixed" firms, i.e., those with both production/consumption and wholesale retail within the boundaries of the firm, on the other hand, are substantially larger. They trade more products, trade with more countries, and are more likely to engage in related-party trade.

Suggested Citation

Bernard, Andrew B. and Jensen, J. Bradford and Redding, Stephen J. and Schott, Peter K., Wholesalers and Retailers in U.S. Trade (Long Version) (January 2010). NBER Working Paper No. w15660, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1537778

Andrew B. Bernard (Contact Author)

Dartmouth College - Tuck School of Business ( email )

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J. Bradford Jensen

Georgetown University - McDonough School of Business ( email )

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Peterson Institute for International Economics ( email )

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Stephen J. Redding

Princeton University ( email )

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Peter K. Schott

Yale University - School of Management ( email )

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