Čt 09.01.2020 | 15:00 | Macro Research Seminar

Alessandro Ferrari (Job Talk) “Global Value Chains and the Business Cycle”

Čt 09.01.2020

Alessandro Ferrari (Job Talk) “Global Value Chains and the Business Cycle”

Alessandro Ferrari

European University Institute, Italy
________________________________________

Author: Alessandro Ferrari

Abstract: In this paper I investigate the role of position in global value chains in the transmission of final demand shocks and the cyclicality and volatility of trade. Relying on a production network model with propagation via procyclical inventory adjustment, I show how shocks can magnify or dissipate upstream. I test the theoretical results empirically using input-output data. I find that industries far from consumers respond to final demand shocks up to twice as much as final goods producers. I also document the critical role of the position in the global value chain for countries’ cyclical macroeconomic response: i) controlling for bilateral similarity in global value chain position eliminates the standard correlation between similarity in industrial structure and bilateral output comovement; ii) two indicators, measuring the number of steps of production embedded in the trade balance and the degree of mismatch between exports and imports, explain between 10% and 50% of the volatility andthe cyclicality of net exports.
________________________________________
Full Text: “Global Value Chains and the Business Cycle”