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International Specialization and the Return to Capital, 1976-2000

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Author Info

  • Batista, Catia

    () (University of Oxford)

  • Potin, Jacques

    () (ESSEC Business School)

Abstract

Using panel data, we provide an integrated treatment of factor endowments, factor prices, and international specialization. In the various cross sections, we confirm the Heckscher-Ohlin prediction that, with sufficient differences in country endowments, there is no factor Price equalization and countries specialize in different subsets of goods. We also explain why, despite higher returns to capital, poor countries do not attract more capital from rich countries. Moreover, along their development path, countries experience the structural change predicted by theory. We find that these changes in specialization mainly occur within industries. Despite capital accumulation by most countries, we find no decrease in the return to capital at any given capital-labour ratio. This must have facilitated growth through capital accumulation

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by ESSEC Research Center, ESSEC Business School in its series ESSEC Working Papers with number DR 08001.

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Length: 50 pages
Date of creation: Jan 2008
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:ebg:essewp:dr-08001

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Postal: ESSEC Research Center, BP 105, 95021 Cergy, France
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Web page: http://www.essec.edu/
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Related research

Keywords: Economic Growth and International Trade; Heckscher-Ohlin; Multiple Cones; Marginal Product of Capital; Specialization;

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References

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