OECD Imports : Diversification of Suppliers and Quality Search

Cadot, Olivier ; Carrere, Celine ; Strauss-Kahn, Vanessa

关键词: ADVERSE SELECTION;    BUYER;    BUYERS;    CAPABILITY;    COMPUTERS;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-5627
RP-ID  :  WPS5627

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper explores the evolution ofOECD imports over time, measuring their concentration acrossorigin countries at the product level. The authors findevidence of diversification followed, in the very last yearsof the sample period (post-2000), by a slightre-concentration. This re-concentration is entirelyexplained by the growing importance of Chinese products inOECD imports. They also find evidence of relatively morevolatile concentration levels for goods with high qualityheterogeneity, with temporary phases of re-concentration ongoods with higher unit values. Both findings are consistentwith a simple model of adverse selection and qualityscreening by OECD buyers predicting that diversificationhappens by "bouts" rather than continuously, withtemporary re-concentration on higher-quality suppliers.