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Exchange Rate Shocks and Quality Adjustments


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Working Paper

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Authors

Goetz, Daniel 
Rodnyansky, Alexander  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3085-8230

Abstract

Do firms respond to cost shocks by reducing the quality of their products? Using microdata from a large Russian retailer that varies its offerings twice-yearly, we document that ruble devaluations are associated with a reduction in the observed material quality of products imported for resale, but that higher quality goods are also more profitable. We reconcile these facts using a simple multi-product sourcing model that features a demand system with expenditure switching, where more profitable products can be dropped more quickly after a cost shock. The estimated model shows that quality downgrading reduces average passthrough by 6% and has meaningful consequences for welfare.

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Keywords

Quality Downgrading, Exchange Rate Pass-through, Devaluations, Crisis, Demand Estimation

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