Working Papers



Abstract: This paper studies the impact of e-commerce platforms on firms’ market power. I present a model with firm heterogeneity, oligopolistic competition, and Input-Output linkages, in which firms use the platforms to lower their variable costs. The cost reduction can occur either (i) as a result of efficiency gains or (ii) via direct discounts on input prices. The increasing use of platforms contributes to the rise of market power because it transforms the cost structure of the firms. Platform users show lower marginal costs but higher overhead costs: since the benefits of the marginal costs reduction outweigh the increase in overhead costs, this gives them a competitive advantage, explaining the increase in market power. Once calibrated to US data, the model attributes one third of the increase in markups to the introduction of e-commerce platforms. At the sectoral level, the heterogeneity in platforms use explains up to 40% of the differences in market power trends across sectors.



Abstract: We study how corporate tax reforms affect the distribution of resources across firms. Using a model with firm heterogeneity, motivated by a Dutch fiscal reform, we test whether a lower tax rate and reduced investment deductibility improve allocative efficiency. We find that aggregate productivity rises and misallocation falls, driven by a reallocation of capital from medium-large firms to the largest and most productive. The tax cut benefits top firms most, enabling their expansion, while the deductibility reduction disproportionately burdens medium-large firms, which invest more intensively, on average, than other firms.


Work in Progress



[First draft soon! Slides available upon request]



[First draft soon! Slides available upon request]