Stickiness, Synchronization, and Exchange Rate Passthrough in Intrafirm Trade Prices

55 Pages Posted: 23 Sep 2009 Last revised: 19 Dec 2009

See all articles by Brent Neiman

Brent Neiman

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: September 1, 2009

Abstract

About forty percent of all U.S. international trades occurs between related parties, or intrafirm, such as trades between a parent and subsidiary of the same multinational corporation. Using a good-level dataset that distinguishes arm’s length from intrafirm trades, I demonstrate that for the set of differentiated products, intrafim prices are characterized by 1) less stickiness, 2) less synchronization, and 3) greater exchange rate passthrough. These differences emerge in a simulated dynamic model in which input exporters that are integrated, unlike arm’s length exporters, seek to maximize combined manufacturer and distributor profits.

Keywords: intrafirm trade, exchange rate passthrough, price rigidity

JEL Classification: F4, E3

Suggested Citation

Neiman, Brent, Stickiness, Synchronization, and Exchange Rate Passthrough in Intrafirm Trade Prices (September 1, 2009). Chicago Booth Research Paper No. 09-40, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1476860 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1476860

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