Computer Man

Antonio Martner

Ph.D. Student
UCLA
amartner@ucla.edu


I am a fifth-year Economics Ph.D. student at UCLA. My research interests are in macroeconomics and industrial organization.

Working Papers

Aggregating Distortions in Networks with Multi-Product Firms
with Yasutaka Koike-Mori [abstract]

We investigate the role of multiproduct firms in shaping resource misallocation and its impact on aggregate total factor productivity (TFP) growth. Using administrative data on product transactions between all formal Chilean firms, we provide evidence that demand shocks to one product affect the production of other products within the same firm, suggesting that firms engage in joint production. We develop a framework to measure resource misallocation in production networks with joint production, deriving non-parametric sufficient statistics to quantify these effects. Applying the framework to Chile, we find that changes in allocative efficiency explain 86% of the observed aggregate TFP growth for the 2016-2022 period. Ignoring joint production leads to overestimation of changes in allocative efficiency.

Work in Progress

Nonlinear Prices in Supply Chains. Job Market Paper
with Luca Lorenzini [abstract]

We examine how price discrimination in supply chains affects resource allocation and welfare. We document prevalent quantity discounts alongside buyer-specific pricing using Chilean firm-to-firm transaction data. We develop a model with an endogenous market structure where firms can price discriminate using a two-part tariff that matches unit prices found in the data. Relative to linear price setups, nonlinear pricing increases output per firm but reduces firm entry by distorting firm profits distribution. Quantitatively, we find that the output increase effect dominates, resulting in higher welfare in nonlinear prices relative to linear price setups. Our calibrated model suggests that the negative welfare effects of markups under nonlinear pricing are approximately 65% of those under linear pricing, indicating standard linear pricing models may overestimate the welfare costs of market power.

Wedges Distribution and Inflation Dynamics
with Will Lu and Mario Giarda [abstract]

We study the monthly cyclicality of the markup distribution using tax records for Chile. We find that markups (i) are unconditionally countercyclical; (ii) the countercyclicality is heterogeneous along the markups’ distribution; (iii) markups increase in response to a contractionary monetary policy shock, and (iv) firms with higher average markups have more responsive markups to monetary surprises. We calibrate a model of firm heterogeneity with Kimball demands and show that markup heterogeneity affects inflation dynamics. We show that strategic complementarities flatten the Phillips curve through the correlation between market shares and pass-through from marginal costs to prices.

The Anatomy of Allocative Efficiency
with Federico Huneeus and Yasutaka Koike-Mori [abstract]

This paper develops a theoretical framework to decompose the drivers of allocative efficiency and their contribution to aggregate TFP growth. Extending Baqaee and Farhi's (2020) model, we present a methodology to partition firms into groups and measure both within-group inefficiencies and cross-group spillovers through supply chains. Using comprehensive Chilean administrative data from 2005-2022, we analyze 12 industries and 16 regions to distinguish between international trade and domestic components. Our findings show that allocative efficiency, rather than technological advancement, drives TFP growth. International trade contributes 42% of aggregate TFP growth, predominantly through mining in the Atacama Region, while domestic factors account for 45%, mainly through retail and wholesale activities in Santiago. Technological changes explain the remaining 13%.

Teaching

Pre-doctoral work

  1. Firm Shocks, Workers Earnings and the Extensive Margin
    Central Bank of Chile WP 1010, March 2024. with A. Castillo, A.S. León, and M. Tapia
  2. Front-of-package warning label effects on manufacturing labor outcomes in Chile
    Food Policy, 2021, vol. 100, p. 102016. with G. Paraje, A. Colchero, J.M. Wlasiuk, and B.M. Popkin
  3. Misallocation or Misspecification? The Effect of Average Distortions on TFP Gains Estimations
    Central Bank of Chile WP 835, June 2019. with E. Albagli, M. Canales, M. Tapia, and J.M. Wlasiuk
  4. The role of small and medium-sized enterprises in Latin American exports to Asia
    United Nations Publications, 2016.
  5. Window of opportunity of Chile-Guatemala commercial agreement (in Spanish)
    ECLAC Publications, 2014