Hanson, GordonLiu, Jiahua2023-06-0220232023-04-192023-05Liu, Jiahua. 2023. Essays on International Trade and Firm Growth in Developing Countries. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.30249909https://nrs.harvard.edu/URN-3:HUL.INSTREPOS:37375460In the three essays of my dissertation, I explore microeconomic issues related to the growth of exporters from developing countries. In the first two chapters, I examine the trade-off and complementarity between quality and productivity innovation from the perspective of firm growth. In Chapter 1, I propose a general framework of international trade by incorporating the possibility of both quality and productivity upgrading. Guided by the framework, in Chapter 2 I look for the mechanism behind a unique pattern of innovation among Chinese PV panel exporters. In the last chapter, my co-author Jie Bai and I study the question of how costly domestic trade barriers are to developing countries' exporters. In particular, we highlight a non-tariff domestic trade barrier in China as a result of VAT rebate policy reform and examine its impact to Chinese exporters.application/pdfenInnovationInternational tradeTrade frictionEconomicsPublic policyEconomic theoryThesis or Dissertation2023-06-020009-0007-3740-7305