We study how a firm’s international trade connections affect its resilience to shocks and their subsequent transmission to the local economy. To do so, we construct an employer-employee dataset merged with customs data to trace the effect of a trade shock on firm performance and worker outcomes. We analyse the extent to which shock transmission depends on the longevity of firms’ existing trade connections. We also analyse whether workers in firms characterised by more long-term or specialised trade connections, also find it more difficult to move between firms following a trade shock.

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