Reallocation, Productivity, and the Ecuadorian Economic Crisis German Cubas∗ Anson T.Y. Ho† Kim P. Huynh‡ David T. Jacho-Ch´avez§ February 16, 2011 Abstract Ecuador’s large economic crisis in the late 1990s serves as an important case study of re- source reallocation. We conduct an empirical analysis using firm level data for 1998-2007 to investigate resource reallocation, firm turnover, and productivity patterns. We use the model by Restuccia and Rogerson (2008) to examine firm-level distortions and productiv- ity during the crisis. Our results indicate that distortions increased as the crisis deepened and decreased after the Ecuadorian economy recovered. Additionally, we decompose pro- ductivity changes as suggested by Petrin and Levinsohn (2010) and find that there is a large negative reallocation effect during the crisis. Keywords and phrases: Reallocation, Productivity, Distortions, Firm Dynamics. JEL codes: F31, D24, L11, O11. ∗Bank of Uruguay, Diagonal Fabini 777, Oficina 501 Montevideo, Uruguay CP 11100. Email: german-
[email protected]. †Department of Economics, University of Iowa, W210 John Pappajohn Bus Bldg, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. Email:
[email protected]. ‡Corresponding Author: Bank of Canada, 234 Wellington Ave., Ottawa ON, K1A 0G9, Canada. Email:
[email protected] and Department of Economics, Indiana University, 105 Wylie Hall, 100 S Woodlawn, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. E-mail:
[email protected]. §Department of Economics, Indiana University, 105 Wylie Hall, 100 S Woodlawn, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. E-mail:
[email protected]. 1 1. Introduction Ecuador’s economic crisis serves as an important case study of economic reallocation. In the late 1990s, the Ecuadorian economy suffered a series of shocks including natural disasters, worsening balance of trade, and the spillover effects from other financial crises.