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Discussion Paper
The Effect of the GST on Indian Growth
This note first documents India's current tax system and describes the changes approved under the new GST legislation. Second, it analyzes the impact of the new GST on Indian GDP and welfare through the impact on domestic and international trade. Finally, this note examines the sensitivity of the growth and welfare outcomes under an alternative scenario of the GST bill.
Working Paper
Emerging Markets and the New Geography of Trade: The Effects of Rising Trade Barriers
Protectionist sentiments have been rising globally in recent years. The consequences of a surge in protectionist measures present policy challenges for emerging markets (EMs), which have become increasingly exposed to global trade. This paper serves two main purposes. First, we collect several stylized facts that characterize EMs' role in the new geography of trade. We focus on differences between advanced economies (AEs) and EMs in trade linkages, production structures, and factor supplies. Second, we build a dynamic, general equilibrium, quantitative trade model featuring multiple ...
Working Paper
Can Self-Help Groups Really Be 'Self-Help'?
We provide an experimental and theoretical evaluation of a cost-reducing innovation in the delivery of "self-help group" microfinance services, in which privatized agents earn payments through membership fees for providing services. Under the status quo, agents are paid by an outside donor and offer members free services. In our multi-country randomized control trial we evaluate the change in this incentive scheme on agent behavior and performance, and on overall village-level outcomes. We find that privatized agents start groups, attract members, mobilize savings, and intermediate loans at ...
Working Paper
Can self-help groups really be self-help?
This paper examines a cost-reducing innovation to the delivery of "Self-Help Group" microfinance services. These groups typically rely on outside agents to found and administer the groups although funds are raised by the group members. The innovation is to have the agents earn their payment by charging membership fees rather than following the status quo in which the agents are paid by an outside organization and instead offer free services to clients. The theory we develop shows that such member- ship fees could actually improve performance without sacrificing membership, simply by ...
Working Paper
A Passage to India : Quantifying Internal and External Barriers to Trade
This paper quantifies the size of internal versus external trade barriers and assesses the impact on trade and welfare. I develop a quantitative multi-sector international trade model featuring nonhomothetic preferences in which states trade both domestically and internationally. I discipline the model using rich micro data on price dispersion as well as foreign and domestic trade flows at the Indian state level. I find that (1) state-based price data predict internal trade flows well; (2) internal trade barriers make up 40% of the total trade cost on average, but vary substantially by state ...
Discussion Paper
Long-Run Effects on Chinese GDP from U.S.-China Tariff Hikes
In this Note, we employ a particular model of trade policy effects following Caliendo and Parro (2015) that focuses on the role of tariffs in spurring adverse resource reallocations.
Discussion Paper
The Effect of US-China Tariff Hikes: Differences in Demand Composition Matter
In this note, we estimate the economic effects of the increases in tariffs between China and the USA since the beginning of 2018, taking into account the investment channel. As of the bilateral Phase One agreement in early 2020, the United States has raised tariffs on about $335 billion of Chinese goods and China has raised tariffs on about $120 billion of US goods.
Discussion Paper
Effects of Supply Chain Bottlenecks on Prices using Textual Analysis
After collapsing in the second half of 2020, global demand for goods, as reflected in global trade, has been exceptionally strong and now well exceeds pre-pandemic levels. The sharp bounceback reflects several factors, including an unprecedented amount of global stimulus and the drawdown of excess savings (especially for high-income households).