The 2020 trade collapse: Exporters amid the pandemic

Abstract

International trade collapsed sharply during the 2020 global recession. This paper provides the first evidence of the response of exporting firms to the 2020 trade collapse. Based on customs and balance sheet data on Colombian firms, I establish that despite a large and sudden drop in the number of exporters, most of the decline in exports is accounted for by an intensive margin adjustment. Multinational affiliates experienced a milder decline in exports, while producers of intermediate inputs and capital goods faced a stronger collapse in exports relative to producers of final consumer goods.