Exchange Rate Shocks and Quality Adjustments
82 Pages Posted: 21 Oct 2016 Last revised: 4 Dec 2020
There are 2 versions of this paper
Exchange Rate Shocks and Quality Adjustments
Exchange Rate Shocks and Quality Adjustments
Date Written: August 31, 2020
Abstract
Do firms respond to cost shocks by reducing the quality of their products? Using microdata from a large Russian retailer that refreshes its product line twice-yearly, we document that higher quality products are more profitable than lower quality ones, but that the number of high quality products offered experiences a relative decrease after a large ruble devaluation in 2014. We show that rising firm costs—and not shrinking consumer incomes—explains the reallocation, and rationalize the data with a simple model that features consumer expenditure switching between high and low qualities. The reallocation to lower quality products reduces average pass-through by 15%.
Keywords: Quality Downgrading, Exchange Rate Pass-through, Devaluations, Crisis, Demand Estimation
JEL Classification: D92, E30, F14, F31, L11, L15, L16, L81, M11
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Here is the Coronavirus
related research on SSRN
