Date: Mar.3, 2022

Time: 9:00-10:30

Speaker: Daniel Yi Xu

Venue: Tencent Meeting (ID: 349-393-670) 

[Speaker Intro]

Daniel Yi Xu is a Professor of Economics at Duke University. He is also the co-editor of Review of Economics and Statistics, and an associate editor of Rand Journal of Economics and American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. Professor Xu’s research lies at the intersection of Productivity, International Trade, and Industrial Organization. His current research agenda is concentrated on using large-scale microdata to model and estimate a rich set of individual firm decisions, often dynamic, and to investigate how these decisions affect resource allocation, industry performance, and economic growth especially in developing and emerging economies. Professor Xu’s most recent work has been published in leading economic journals, including American Economic Review, Rand Journal of Economics, Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Dynamics and Management Science.  

【Abstract】

We study how search and information frictions shape market dynamics in global e-commerce. Observational data and self-collected quality measures from AliExpress establish the existence of search and information frictions. A randomized experiment that offers new exporters exogenous demand and information shocks demonstrates the potential role of sales accumulation in enhancing seller visibility and overcoming these demand frictions. However, we show theoretically and quantitatively that this demand-reinforcement mechanism is undermined by the large number of online exporters. Our structural model rationalizes the experimental findings and quantifies efficiency gains from reducing the number of inactive sellers.