Intrafirm Trade and Vertical Fragmentation in U.S. Multinational Corporations

22 Pages Posted: 18 Aug 2015 Last revised: 4 Mar 2023

See all articles by Natalia Ramondo

Natalia Ramondo

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IRPS)

Veronica Rappoport

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE)

Kim J. Ruhl

New York University (NYU), Leonard N. Stern School of Business - Department of Economics

Date Written: August 2015

Abstract

Using firm-level data, we document two new facts regarding intrafirm trade and the activities of the foreign affiliates of U.S. multinational corporations. First, intrafirm trade is concentrated among a small number of large affiliates within large multinational corporations; the median affiliate ships nothing to the rest of the corporation. Second, we find that the input-output coefficient linking the parent’s and affiliate’s industries of operation—a characteristic commonly associated with production fragmentation— is not related to a corresponding intrafirm flow of goods.

Suggested Citation

Ramondo, Natalia and Rappoport, Veronica and Ruhl, Kim Joseph, Intrafirm Trade and Vertical Fragmentation in U.S. Multinational Corporations (August 2015). NBER Working Paper No. w21472, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2645568

Natalia Ramondo (Contact Author)

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IRPS) ( email )

9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0519
United States

Veronica Rappoport

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) ( email )

Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom

Kim Joseph Ruhl

New York University (NYU), Leonard N. Stern School of Business - Department of Economics ( email )

44 West 4th Street
Suite 9-160
New York, NY NY 10012
United States

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