IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jproda/v46y2016i1d10.1007_s11123-016-0466-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Leontief was not right after all

Author

Listed:
  • Eric O’N. Fisher

    (California Polytechnic State University)

  • Kathryn G. Marshall

    (University of California at Riverside)

Abstract

We use recent international data on cost shares by industry to conduct the first robust test of Leontief’s hypothesis of factor-specific productivity differences. We strongly reject this hypothesis. Hence tests of the Heckscher–Ohlin–Vanek paradigm cannot be based upon simple modifications that define factors in efficiency units. We also discuss a theory of productivity differences that describes the factor content of trade well.

Suggested Citation

  • Eric O’N. Fisher & Kathryn G. Marshall, 2016. "Leontief was not right after all," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 15-24, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jproda:v:46:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s11123-016-0466-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s11123-016-0466-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11123-016-0466-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11123-016-0466-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paul A. Samuelson, 1953. "Prices of Factors and Goods in General Equilibrium," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 21(1), pages 1-20.
    2. Eric O'N. Fisher & Kathryn G. Marshall, 2011. "The Structure of the American Economy," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(1), pages 15-31, February.
    3. Marshall, Kathryn G., 2012. "International productivity and factor price comparisons," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 386-390.
    4. Donald R. Davis & David E. Weinstein, 2001. "An Account of Global Factor Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1423-1453, December.
    5. Peter K. Schott, 2003. "One Size Fits All? Heckscher-Ohlin Specialization in Global Production," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(3), pages 686-708, June.
    6. Thijs ten Raa & Pierre Mohnen, 2009. "The Location of Comparative Advantages on the Basis of Fundamentals Only," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Input–Output Economics: Theory And Applications Featuring Asian Economies, chapter 23, pages 425-446, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    7. Trefler, Daniel, 1993. "International Factor Price Differences: Leontief Was Right!," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(6), pages 961-987, December.
    8. Brecher, Richard A. & Choudhri, Ehsan U., 1982. "The factor content of international trade without factor-price equalization," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(3-4), pages 277-283, May.
    9. Rosefielde, Steven, 1974. "Factor Proportions and Economic Rationality in Soviet International Trade 1955-1968," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 64(4), pages 670-681, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Guo, Baoping, 2015. "Leontief Paradox Explored A New Trade Pattern When Countries Have Different Technologies," MPRA Paper 96929, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Nov 2019.
    2. Guo, Baoping, 2015. "Heckscher-Ohlin Trade, Leontief Trade, and Factor Conversion Trade When Countries Have Different Technologies," MPRA Paper 95161, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Jul 2019.
    3. Kozo Kiyota, 2021. "The Leontief Paradox Redux," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 296-313, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fisher, Eric O'N., 2011. "Heckscher-Ohlin theory when countries have different technologies," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 202-210, April.
    2. Lai, Huiwen & Zhu, Susan Chun, 2007. "Technology, endowments, and the factor content of bilateral trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 389-409, April.
    3. Andrés Artal & Juana Castillo & Francisco Requena, 2006. "Contrastación empírica del modelo de dotaciones factoriales para el comercio interregional de España," Investigaciones Economicas, Fundación SEPI, vol. 30(3), pages 539-576, September.
    4. Ciaian, Pavel & Kancs, d'Artis & Pokrivcak, Jan, 2011. "Comparative Advantages, Transaction Costs and Factor Content in Agricultural Trade: Empirical Evidence from the CEE - Vantaggi comparati, costi di transazione e contenuto dei fattori nel commercio agr," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 64(1), pages 67-101.
    5. James Harrigan, 2001. "Specialization and the Volume of Trade: Do the Data Obey the Laws?," NBER Working Papers 8675, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Elhanan Helpman, 1999. "The Structure of Foreign Trade," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(2), pages 121-144, Spring.
    7. Rotunno, Lorenzo & Wood, Adrian, 2020. "Wage inequality and skill supplies in a globalised world," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 529-547.
    8. Kagawa, Shigemi, 2008. "How does Japanese compliance with the Kyoto Protocol affect environmental productivity in China and Japan?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 173-188, June.
    9. Donald R. Davis & David E. Weinstein, 2001. "An Account of Global Factor Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1423-1453, December.
    10. Daniel Bernhofen, 2010. "The Empirics of General Equilibrium Tade Theory: What Have we Learned?," CESifo Working Paper Series 3242, CESifo.
    11. Reimer, Jeffrey J., 2006. "Global production sharing and trade in the services of factors," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 384-408, March.
    12. Andrew B. Bernard & Stephen J. Redding & Peter K. Schott, 2013. "Testing for Factor Price Equality with Unobserved Differences in Factor Quality or Productivity," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(2), pages 135-163, May.
    13. Yun‐kwong Kwok, 2006. "Global factor trade with differentiated factor prices and factor intensities," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(3), pages 758-780, August.
    14. Haiwen Zhou, 2007. "Factor Endowment, the Choice of Technology, and the Volume of Trade," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(4), pages 593-611.
    15. Adrian Wood (QEH), "undated". "Openness is a Matter of Degree: How Trade Costs Reduce Demand Elasticities," QEH Working Papers qehwps169, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    16. Ján POKRIVČÁK & Pavel CIAIAN & d'Artis KANCS, 2011. "Modelling the factor content of agricultural trade," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 57(8), pages 370-383.
    17. Demmou Lilas, 2009. "Déterminants et nature des spécialisations Nord-Sud : quelques enseignements tirés de la littérature empirique," Revue d'économie politique, Dalloz, vol. 119(1), pages 71-94.
    18. Keith E. Maskus & Shuichiro Nishioka, 2009. "Development-related biases in factor productivities and the HOV model of trade," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 42(2), pages 519-553, May.
    19. Donald R. Davis & David E. Weinstein, 2001. "Do Factor Endowments Matter for North-North Trade?," NBER Working Papers 8516, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Lorenzo Rotunno & Adrian Wood, 2015. "Wages and endowments in a globalised world," Economics Papers 2015-W11, Economics Group, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Factor-specific productivity differences; Leontief conjecture; Total factor productivity; Empirical studies of trade;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jproda:v:46:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s11123-016-0466-2. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.