Abstract
This doctoral thesis in Economics consists of three self-contained chapters. “How large are the dynamic gains from trade?” uses a theoretical trade model to study the welfare gains from trade in a dynamic setting. I show that trade liberalization leads to a higher productivity growth and higher aggregate consumer welfare even when the returns to firm entry are decreasing. “Localized effects of the China trade shock: Is there an effect on consumer expenditure?” applies empirical methods to study the distributional consequences of increased trade competition. I examine the effect of the China trade shock on local labor market outcomes and local consumer expenditure in the U.S. “The effect of the fracking boom on non-durable consumer expenditure: evidence from the consumer scanner data” continues to investigate the changes in nominal and real consumer expenditure following localized economic shocks. In particular, I show that the fracking boom in the U.S. had a positive and persistent effect on local consumer expenditure.