Title: Two-Sided Heterogeneity in Firm-to-Firm Production Networks

Speaker: Xincheng Qiu, Assistant Professor, Peking University

Moderator: Yuxiao Hu, Assistant Professor, Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Time: 14:00-15:30 PM, Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Venue: Room A503, Antai Building, Xuhui Campus, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Brief introduction of the content: 

Production networks make firm performance an aggregated outcome of bilateral relationships: who firms trade with and how much is transacted. This paper quantifies two-sided heterogeneity in firm-to-firm transactions using the universe of value-added tax invoices in China from 2014--2018. We adapt the two-way fixed-effects framework to production networks and decompose log transaction volume into supplier effects, buyer effects, and match-specific residuals. We find that supplier-side heterogeneity is the dominant source of transaction dispersion. Using the estimated components, we provide a novel characterization of firm-to-firm production networks. Finally, we document evidence of network misallocation among state-owned enterprises, who exhibit weaker supplier-quality sorting and preferential access to high-quality suppliers.

Speaker's profile:

Qiu Xincheng is an Assistant Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, and Associate Director of the Institute of Economic Policy Research, Peking University.

In 2024, he received the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars (Overseas). He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 2023, and completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Peking University.

His research focuses on macroeconomics, labor economics, firm dynamics, and economic development. His work has been published in leading international macroeconomics journals, including the Journal of Monetary Economics (2 papers), Journal of Political Economy Macroeconomics, and The Economic Journal.

He is a two-time recipient of the Best Young Scholar Paper Award at the China International Conference in Macroeconomics. His other honors include the Rising Star Award and Gregory Chow Best Paper Award from the Chinese Economists Society, the Best Ph.D. Dissertation Award, and Dean’s Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania.

Welcome all!