生产分割、信息摩擦与关税传导:消费市场的理论与经验

Production Segmentation,Information Friction and Tariff Pass-through:Theoretical and Empirical Analysis Based on the Consumer Market

本文首次从理论和经验两方面验证了生产分割通过信息摩擦影响关税传导的机制以及不同消费市场对开放政策产生差异性反应的原因。本文构建了反映进口关税与零售商定价关系的理论框架,诠释了生产分割如何通过信息摩擦影响关税传导,然后使用1999-2013年中国产品层面的消费价格数据进行经验检验。结果表明,生产分割对关税传导具有显著提升效果。此外,我们还验证了贸易壁垒和进口固定成本是影响两者关系的重要因素。省外生产工序较多、市场整合程度较低与市场准入较小的地区,面临的贸易壁垒较大,导致生产分割对关税传导影响效果不显著;贸易中间商越多、一般贸易比重越大以及距离港口越远的地区,面临的进口固定成本越大,生产分割对关税传导的作用越不明显。

This article first uses theory and empirical evidence to verify how production segmentation affects the tariff pass-through in information friction,ultimately causing differential responses to open policies in different consumer markets.Theoretically,the article builds a framework for the relationship between import tariffs and retail prices and explains that production segmentation affects tariff pass-through in information friction.Empirically,the article uses China’s product-level consumer price data from between 1999 and 2013 for testing.Empirical results show that production segmentation has a significant effect on tariff pass-through.This article also verifies that barriers to trade and the fixed cost of imports are two important factors:(i)regions with more production processes outside the province,lower market integration and reduced market access face greater barriers to trade,without any obvious effect of production segmentation on tariff pass-through;and(ii)in regions with a higher number of trade intermediaries and a higher proportion of general trade,the greater the distance from the port,the higher the fixed cost of imports,and the less obvious the effect of production segmentation on tariff pass-through becomes.