Essays in macroeconomics

Abstract

In this thesis, I cover three relevant topics in macroeconomics: the effects of trade liberalization, the effect of institutions and the determinants of credibility on macroeconomic policies. The first essay revisits the empirical work on the effects of trade liberalization and analyzes how it affects growth through two distinct channels: through better access to intermediate supplies and through tougher foreign competition. In particular, both effects are significant: while the first boosts growth the second one hinders it. Moreover, the effect of the first channel outweighs the effect of the second one. The second essay is an empirical analysis showing that weaker institutions increase transaction costs, particularly the costs incurred by a firm when dealing with suppliers of intermediate goods. In particular, It is showed that industries with a more complex intermediate structure suffer a relatively larger loss of productivity in countries with poorer institutions. The third essay revisits the theoretical determinants of governments' credibility in regard to outstanding debt. Governments default not because they want to, but because they cannot avoid it. Under this and other assumptions, some standard results need no longer hold. For instance, appointing a conservative policymaker or denominating public debt in foreign currency may reduce credibility.