This paper studies the role of income inequality in the importing country as a determinant of export unit value and product quality estimated employing information on market shares and prices. Using detailed firm-level data, we find that higher inequality in the destination market is associated with lower unit value and product quality. Noticeably, the negative effect of inequality is stronger in richer destinations. Firm-level heterogeneous responses to market conditions explain changes in unit value and quality. Incumbent exporting firms report lower unit value when income inequality increases, while entrants supply products of lower quality. All in all, our findings show that income inequality is a determinant of import demand which ultimately induces quality and unit value differentials across markets.

本文利用市场份额和价格信息，研究了收入不平等在进口国中作为决定出口单位价值和产品质量的决定因素的作用。使用详细的公司级数据，我们发现目的地市场中更高的不平等与更低的单位价值和产品质量相关。值得注意的是，不平等的负面影响在较富裕的地区更为明显。公司对市场状况的不同反应解释了单位价值和质量的变化。当收入不平等加剧时，现有的出口公司报告单位价值降低，而进入者则提供质量较低的产品。总而言之，我们的发现表明，收入不平等是进口需求的决定因素，最终导致了整个市场的质量和单位价值差异。