Data for: Exchange rate pass-through and product heterogeneity: Does quality matter on the import side?

Abstract of associated article: This paper investigates theoretically and empirically the heterogeneous response of exporters to real exchange rate fluctuations due to the quality of imported inputs and exported output. We develop a model where the production of high-quality products requires high-quality inputs sold in monopolistically competitive foreign markets. The model predicts that exporters using imported inputs have low exchange rate pass-through, but this effect is weaker for firms shipping high-quality goods. This is due to the heterogeneous price adjustments of foreign suppliers selling inputs of different quality. We test the predictions of the model using Italian firm-level trade data for the period 2000–2006. The empirical analysis shows that the imports of intermediates have a significantly weaker effect in reducing the exchange rate pass-through into the export price of high-quality varieties. By showing that the import price of high-quality inputs is less sensitive to exchange rate variations, we provide evidence supporting the theoretical hypothesis that the pricing power of input suppliers weakens the import channel.

本文从理论与实证角度探讨了出口商因进口投入品及出口产品品质差异而对实际汇率波动的异质反应。本研究构建了一个模型，其中高质量产品的生产需要销售于垄断竞争性外国市场的高质量投入品。模型预测，使用进口投入品的出口商汇率传递效应较低，但对于运输高质量产品的企业，这一效应较弱。这是由于不同质量投入品的外国供应商之间存在异质的价格调整。我们利用2000年至2006年意大利企业层面的贸易数据对模型的预测进行了检验。实证分析表明，中间产品的进口对降低高质量品种出口价格中的汇率传递效应具有显著较弱的效应。通过证明高质量投入品的进口价格对汇率变动的敏感性较低，我们为支持理论假设——投入品供应商的定价能力削弱了进口渠道——提供了证据。