Input Specificity and the Propagation of Idiosyncratic Shocks in Production Networks

This article examines whether firm-level idiosyncratic shocks propagate in production networks. We identify idiosyncratic shocks with the occurrence of natural disasters. We find that affected suppliers impose substantial output losses on their customers, especially when they produce specific inputs...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sauvagnat, Julien, Barrot, Jean-Noel
Other Authors: Sloan School of Management
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: Oxford University Press 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/111134
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1575-0405
Description
Summary:This article examines whether firm-level idiosyncratic shocks propagate in production networks. We identify idiosyncratic shocks with the occurrence of natural disasters. We find that affected suppliers impose substantial output losses on their customers, especially when they produce specific inputs. These output losses translate into significant market value losses, and they spill over to other suppliers. Our point estimates are economically large, suggesting that input specificity is an important determinant of the propagation of idiosyncratic shocks in the economy.