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The Impact of Intranational Trade Barriers on Exports: Evidence from a Nationwide VAT Rebate Reform in China

Author

Listed:
  • Jie Bai

    (Center for International Development at Harvard University)

  • Jiahua Liu
Abstract
It is well known that various forms of non-tariff trade barriers exist within a country. Empirically, it is difficult to measure these barriers as they can take many forms. We take advantage of a nationwide VAT rebate policy reform in China as a natural experiment to identify the existence of these intranational barriers due to local protectionism and study the impact on exports and exporting firms. As a result of shifting tax rebate burden, the reform leads to a greater incentive of the provincial governments to block the domestic flow of non-local goods to local export intermediaries. We develop an open-economy heterogenous firm model that incorporates multiple domestic regions and multiple exporting technologies, including the intermediary sector. Consistent with the model’s predictions, we find that rising local protectionism leads to a reduction in interprovincial trade, more “inward-looking” sourcing behavior of local intermediaries, and a reduction in manufacturing exports. Analysis using micro firm-level data further shows that private companies with greater baseline reliance on export intermediaries are more adversely affected.

Suggested Citation

  • Jie Bai & Jiahua Liu, 2019. "The Impact of Intranational Trade Barriers on Exports: Evidence from a Nationwide VAT Rebate Reform in China," CID Working Papers 373, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    • Handle: RePEc:cid:wpfacu:373
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Hanming Fang & Ming Li & Zenan Wu, 2022. "Tournament-Style Political Competition and Local Protectionism: Theory and Evidence from China," PIER Working Paper Archive 22-031, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
    2. Chen, Quanrun & Gao, Yuning & Pei, Jiansuo & de Vries, Gaaitzen & Wang, Fei, 2022. "China's domestic production networks," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    3. Bond, Eric W. & Duan, Yuwan & Ji, Ting & Lu, Yi, 2023. "Trade and welfare effects of export tax: Theory and evidence from China's incomplete export VAT rebate," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 542-560.
    4. He, Ruofan & Wan, Panbing, 2024. "Electricity market integration in China: The role of government officials’ hometown ties," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 303(C).
    5. Zheng, Yilin & Lu, Ming & Li, Jiewei, 2022. "Internal circulation in China: Analyzing market segmentation and integration using big data for truck traffic flow," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    6. Lu, Bing & Ma, Hong, 2023. "The “Matthew effect” in rebates: How does VAT rebates allocation affect firm export performance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).

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