Events at CERGE-EI

Prof. Bernd Fitzenberger

Institute for Employment Research
Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen–Nuremberg (FAU), Germany

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Meeting number: 2740 518 4277
Meeting password: 736214

Authors: Christian Dustmann, Bernd Fitzenberger, Jan Knuf, and Alexandra Spitz-Oener

Abstract: This paper examines why Germany and the US responded so differently to the rise of China in the 2000s, why export performance reversed after the global financial crisis, and how these dynamics evolved in the 2020s amid deglobalization and geopolitical tensions. We make three contributions. First, we propose a decomposition framework that distinguishes compositional forces from exporter-specific competitiveness in shaping national export growth. Second, we develop a new method to measure product quality that allows for richer substitution patterns and nonhomothetic consumer preferences, without relying on price instruments. Third, we show how quality upgrading shaped Germany’s export success during the globalization boom and how subsequent shifts in global demand and trade patterns later reversed this advantage.