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An Empirical Assessment of the Comparative Advantage Gains from Trade: Evidence from Japan

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Author Info
Daniel M. Bernhofen
John C. Brown
Abstract

We provide an empirical assessment of the comparative advantage gains from trade argument. We use Japan's nineteenth century opening up to world commerce as a natural experiment to answer the following counterfactual: "By how much would real income have had to increase in Japan during its final autarky years of 1851-1853 to afford the consumption bundle the economy could have obtained if it were engaged in international trade during that period?" Using detailed historical data on trade flows, autarky prices, and Japan's real GDP, we obtain upper bounds on the gains from trade of about 8 to 9 percent of Japan's GDP.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by American Economic Association in its journal American Economic Review.

Volume (Year): 95 (2005)
Issue (Month): 1 (March)
Pages: 208-225
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Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:95:y:2005:i:1:p:208-225

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Daniel M. Bernhofen & John C. Brown, 2004. "A Direct Test of the Theory of Comparative Advantage: The Case of Japan," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(1), pages 48-67, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Huber, J Richard, 1971. "Effect on Prices of Japan's Entry into World Commerce after 1858," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(3), pages 614-28, May-June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Choi, E Kwan & Harrigan, James, 2004. "Handbook of International Trade," Staff General Research Papers 11375, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
  4. Kevin H. O'Rourke & Jeffrey G. Williamson, 2000. "When Did Globalization Begin?," NBER Working Papers 7632, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. repec:rus:hseeco:122203 is not listed on IDEAS
  6. Douglas A. Irwin, 2001. "The Welfare Cost of Autarky: Evidence from the Jeffersonian Trade Embargo, 1807-1809," NBER Working Papers 8692, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Deardorff, Alan V, 1980. "The General Validity of the Law of Comparative Advantage," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 88(5), pages 941-57, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Crawcour, E S & Yamamura, Kozo, 1970. "The Tokugawa Monetary System: 1787-1868," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(4), pages 489-518, Part I Ju.
  9. Jeffrey A. Frankel & David Romer, 1999. "Does Trade Cause Growth?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(3), pages 379-399, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Masaki Nakabayashi, 2008. "Speed of the price and efficiency of the concession the treaty port market in Japanfs industrialization," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 08-14, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics and Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP). [Downloadable!]
  2. Kozo Kiyota, 2007. "On Testing the Law of Comparative Advantage," Working Papers 556, Research Seminar in International Economics, University of Michigan. [Downloadable!]
  3. Debaere, Peter, 2005. "Small Fish - Big Issues The Effect of Trade Policy on the Global Shrimp Market," CEPR Discussion Papers 5254, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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