要旨：This study analyzes how local agglomeration affects the probabilities of firm entry and exit by focusing on single-establishment firms in the service sector. Firms in the service sector face geographically localized markets since service is generally non-tradable. A theoretical prediction in the literature is that firm turnover is increasing in market size, which is empirically tested in this paper. A novelty of this study is to identify geographic ranges of local agglomeration with geocoding of firm location and micro-geographic data. This study finds that probability of firm entry and exit in the service sector is largely affected by agglomeration factors localized within a 3km radius from their locations.

要旨：In international trade, transportation requires a round trip for which a transport firm has to commit to shipping capacity that is sufficient to meet the maximum shipping volume. This may cause the “backhaul problem.” Trade theory suggests that, facing the problem, transport firms with market power adjust their freight rates strategically when import tariffs change. As a consequence, a country reducing its import tariffs may experience an increase in exports as well as imports. Using worldwide data covering 1995-2007, we find evidence that supports these predictions: a 1% reduction in an importer’s tariffs increases the import freight rates by around 0.8%; reduces the export freight rates by around 1.1%; and increases the export quantity by 0.6% to 1%. These findings indicate a new mechanism through which import-tariff reductions lead to export expansions.