Intermediaries in International Trade: Products and Destinations

This paper examines the factors that give rise to intermediaries in exporting and explores the implications for trade volumes. Export intermediaries such as wholesalers serve different markets and export different products than manufacturing exporters. Wholesalers are more prevalent in markets with higher destination-specific fixed costs and focus on products that are less differentiated, have lower contract intensity and have large sunk entry costs. Aggregate exports to destinations with high shares of indirect exports are less responsive to changes in the real exchange rate than are exports to markets served primarily by direct exporters.