1.
Journal of Asian Economics
; : 101328, 2021.
Article
in English
| ScienceDirect | ID: covidwho-1230368
ABSTRACT
Using the detailed data on production and transaction of Chinese manufacturing firms, we investigate how the input tariff liberalization affects firm profitability and explore the underlying channels of this effect. We find that input tariff reduction significantly increases firms’ profitability. Our finding is robust to a variety of specifications. We further find that the quality upgrading of imported intermediate inputs and the reduction of inventory costs are the main reasons for the profit-enhancing effect of input tariff reduction. Our study has important policy implications for the economic growth in the long run and the economic recovery during the epidemic of COVID-19.