Aleksandr Vashchilko - Home Page

Previous literature has analyzed how country, industry and firm characteristics interact in general equilibrium to determine the effect of transition from autarky to trade when both labor and capital are mobile across sectors. This research studies the effect of changes in trade barriers on factor prices, employment, and productivity in a two-country, specific-factors model of international trade where the industry structure is similar to Melitz (2003). Falling trade costs lead to the reallocation of resources both within and across industries, changes in the average productivity of firms across sectors, and changes in factor prices. This study shows that the effect of the reduction in a sector's variable trade cost on the average productivity of firms in this sector of each country is positive. However, the effect of the reduction in a sector's variable trade cost on the average productivity of firms in the other sector of each country depends on economy’s endowment structure. This finding allows new predictions for changes in the average productivity of firms across sectors, when trade costs in both sectors have been reduced.

“Short-Run Effects of Trade Liberalization, When Market Structure Differs across Sectors”

This research studies the effects of trade liberalization in short-run when the market structure differs across sectors. Some sectors are characterized by perfect competition market structure, when firms, having constant returns to scale and produce a homogeneous commodity, charge a price equal to the marginal cost. At the same time other sectors might be better characterized by monopolistic competition market structure, when a firm exploits the demand for variety that is distinctive in some ways from other varieties. Using a traditional specific-factors model with perfect competition in one sector and monopolistic competition with heterogeneous firms in another sector, the examination is of the effects of trade liberalization for the case sectors having different market structures.

“Trade Liberalization with Pro-Competitive Effect”

Starting from Krugman (1979), CES preferences have often been used in monopolistic competition market structure. As indicated in Melitz (2003), such specification of preferences does not allow for a pro-competitive effect of trade liberalization when the number of firms in the market and the prices they charge affect a firm’s markup. This study relaxes the constant elasticity assumption, by integrating specification of preferences, as in Behrens and Murata (2005), into Melitz‘s framework. In this way, more plausible predictions about trade liberalization could be conceived.

HONORS AND FELLOWSHIPS

Bates White Graduate Fellowship, Department of Economics, PSU

J.J.Spengler Graduate Fellowship, Department of Economics, Duke University

New Economic School full scholarship

Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology full scholarship

Winner (2nd place) of the National Olympiad in Physics (Belarus)

RESEARCH AND TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Dr. K. Huang (Vanderbilt University) TA Econ 305, Macro III(graduate)

Dr. D. Weymark (Vanderbilt University) TA Econ 232, Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory

Dr. S. Buckles (Vanderbilt University) TA Econ 100, Principles of Macroeconomics

Dr. J. Pinkse (PSU) TA Econ 510, Econometrics II (graduate)

Dr. E Bond (PSU) TA Econ 433, International Trade

Dr. E. Bond (PSU) RA

Accomplishments: developed Matlab program to compute payoff frontier for repeated interactions between trading agents

Dr. P. Graf (PSU) TA Econ 004, Introductory Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy

Dr. A. Shorrocks and Dr. E. Gurvich RA, project: Evaluation of Tax Benefits Reform

Dr. S. Anatolyev (NES) TA, Econometrics (graduate)

Dr. O.Eismont (NES) TA, Economic Theory of the Exhaustion of Natural Resources (graduate)

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS AND SEMINARS

“Short-run Effects of Trade Liberalization in the Presence of Firm Heterogeneity”, Vanderbilt University, Department of Economics: Graduate Student Research Day

“Predictions on Income Redistribution and Tax Revenues resulted from Changes in Income and Payroll Taxes”, New Economic School: IX Research Conference “Russian economic and Political Institutions in Transition”

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE (RECENT)

Summer Senior Consultant, Bates and White, LLC. Washington,

Accomplishments: developed new method and related software to more accurately estimate demands in a differentiated product market in which possible negative outcomes for consumers result from market structure changes (mergers or acquisitions). The flexibility of the method easily accounts for possible substitution patterns in differentiated products’ markets.

INSTRUCTIONAL AND COMPETENCE AREAS

International Economics sequence of undergraduate and graduate courses

Econometrics sequence of undergraduate and graduate courses

Macroeconomics sequence of undergraduate and graduate courses

Microeconomic sequence of undergraduate and graduate courses

Industrial Organization sequence of undergraduate and graduate course

ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIPS

American Economic Association

OTHER INFORMATION

Computer Skills:

Programming languages: C++, Matlab, GAUSS, Pascal

Statistical packages: STATA, EViews, EasyReg

Other software: SWP, LaTex, MS-Office

Language Skills

English: fluent

Russian: native

Belarusian: native

Citizenship

Russian Federation: visa F-1

PLACEMENT DIRECTOR

(615) 322-0263, jeremy.atack@vanderbilt.edu

May 2008

June 2004

June 2001
June 1999

(615) 322-2388, eric.bond@vanderbilt.edu

(615) 322-7357, mario.j.crucini@vanderbilt.edu

(615) 936-7271, kevin.huang@vanderbilt.edu

(615) 322-3339, benjamin.c.zissimos@vanderbilt.edu

October 2007. Job market paper.

October 2007. Working paper.

Fall 2003 – Spring 2004

Fall 2001

1999 - 2001

1993 - 1999

1993

Fall 2007

Spring 2007

Fall 2006

Spring 2003

Fall 2002

Summer 2002

Spring 2002

Fall 2000 - Spring 2001

Spring 2001

Fall 2000

April 2007

April 2001

Summer 2003