@techreport{NBERw16753,
 title = "The Network Structure of International Trade",
 author = "Thomas Chaney",
 institution = "National Bureau of Economic Research",
 type = "Working Paper",
 series = "Working Paper Series",
 number = "16753",
 year = "2011",
 month = "January",
 URL = "http://www.nber.org/papers/w16753",
 abstract = {I build a simple dynamic model of the formation of an international social network of importers and exporters. Firms can only export into markets in which they have a contact. They acquire new contacts both at random, and via their network of existing contacts. This model explains (i) the cross-sectional distribution of the number of foreign markets accessed by individual exporters, (ii) the cross-sectional geographic distribution of foreign contacts, and (iii) the dynamics of firm level exports. I show that the firm level dynamics of trade can explain the observed cross section of firm level exports. All theoretical predictions are supported by the data.},
}