The paper presents a model that can explain how regional differences emerge in a country as a consequence of foreign trade. The model is based on the widely used increasing returns/transportation costs framework. In addition to the conventional elements, heterogeneous households and imperfect labor mobility are added. The results indicate that for a small economy international trade leads to human capital reallocation, and thus more regional inequality than without labor heterogeneity. Even small migration ows can lead to large inequalities in per capita incomes, if the most skilled workers move. The model also sheds some light on the relative importance of fundamentals and historical factors.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Length: 31 pages Date of creation: 01 Oct 2001 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:boc:bocoec:528
Contact details of provider: Postal: Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill MA 02467 USA Phone: 617-552-3670 Fax: +1-617-552-2308 Email: Web page: http://fmwww.bc.edu/EC/ More information through EDIRC
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Christopher F Baum).
References listed on IDEAS 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.: