IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eaa/aeinde/v10y2010i2_3.html

Technology, factor endowments, and specialization in OECD countries: the role of variable capital utilization

Author

Listed:
  • Serge SHIKHER

Abstract

This paper studies how specialization, measured by industry shares in GDP, is affected by technology and factor endowments. The empirical methodology takes into account variable factor utilization with capital utilization calculated from the consumption of electricity. Estimation results show that ignoring variable capital utilization overstates the effects of technology on specialization. The model is used to explain the differential changes in specialization that occurred in Korea and Turkey between 1975 and 1995. The results show that capital rather than technology accumulation was the most important determinant of this differential.

Suggested Citation

  • Serge SHIKHER, 2010. "Technology, factor endowments, and specialization in OECD countries: the role of variable capital utilization," Applied Econometrics and International Development, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 10(2).
    • Handle: RePEc:eaa:aeinde:v:10:y:2010:i:2_3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.usc.es/economet/reviews/aeid1023.pdf
    Download Restriction: No.
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Christensen, Laurits R & Jorgenson, Dale W & Lau, Lawrence J, 1973. "Transcendental Logarithmic Production Frontiers," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 55(1), pages 28-45, February.
    2. Harrigan, James, 1997. "Technology, Factor Supplies, and International Specialization: Estimating the Neoclassical Model," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(4), pages 475-494, September.
    3. Svensson, Lars E. O., 1983. "On variable capital utilization and international trade theory," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 377-384.
    4. Jones, Ronald W & Scheinkman, Jose A, 1977. "The Relevance of the Two-Sector Production Model in Trade Theory," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 85(5), pages 909-935, October.
    5. Christensen, L. R. & Cummings, D. & Jorgenson, D. W., 1981. "Relative productivity levels, 1947-1973 : An international comparison," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 61-94.
    6. Barro, Robert J & Lee, Jong-Wha, 2001. "International Data on Educational Attainment: Updates and Implications," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 53(3), pages 541-563, July.
    7. Ulrich R. Kohli, 1978. "A Gross National Product Function and the Derived Demand for Imports and Supply of Exports," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 11(2), pages 167-182, May.
    8. Trefler, Daniel, 1995. "The Case of the Missing Trade and Other Mysteries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(5), pages 1029-1046, December.
    9. Marianne Baxter & Dorsey D. Farr, 2001. "The Effects of Variable Capital Utilization on the Measurement and Properties of Sectoral Productivity: Some International Evidence," NBER Working Papers 8475, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Burnside, A. Craig & Eichenbaum, Martin S. & Rebelo, Sergio T., 1996. "Sectoral Solow residuals," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(3-5), pages 861-869, April.
    11. Craig Burnside & Martin Eichenbaum & Sergio Rebelo, 1995. "Capital Utilization and Returns to Scale," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1995, Volume 10, pages 67-124, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Marianne Baxter & Dorsey Farr, 2001. "Variable Factor Utilization and International Business Cycles," NBER Working Papers 8392, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Jonathan Eaton & Samuel Kortum, 2002. "Technology, Geography, and Trade," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 70(5), pages 1741-1779, September.
    14. Roger Betancourt & Christopher Clague & Arvind Panagariya, 1985. "Capital Utilization and Factor Specificity," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 52(2), pages 311-329.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. 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.
    2. Harald Fadinger & Pablo Fleiss, 2011. "Trade and Sectoral Productivity," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 121(555), pages 958-989, September.
    3. Batista, Catia & Potin, Jacques, 2008. "International Specialization and the Return to Capital, 1976-2000," ESSEC Working Papers DR 08001, ESSEC Research Center, ESSEC Business School.
    4. Morrow, Peter M., 2010. "Ricardian-Heckscher-Ohlin comparative advantage: Theory and evidence," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(2), pages 137-151, November.
    5. Batista Cátia & Potin Jacques, 2015. "International specialization and the return to capital," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 15(2), pages 467-508, July.
    6. Catia Batista & Jacques Potin, 2007. "Heckscher-Ohlin Specialization and the Marginal Product of Capital, 1976-2000," Economics Series Working Papers 357, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    7. Decreux, Yvan & Ramos, Maria Priscila, 2007. "How does tariff-rate quota modelling affect CGE results? An application for MIRAGE," Working Papers 7206, TRADEAG - Agricultural Trade Agreements.
    8. Caselli, Francesco, 2005. "Accounting for Cross-Country Income Differences," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 9, pages 679-741, Elsevier.
    9. Daniel Bernhofen, 2010. "The Empirics of General Equilibrium Tade Theory: What Have we Learned?," CESifo Working Paper Series 3242, CESifo.
    10. Catia Batista & Jacques Potin, 2007. "Stages of diversification and specialization in an Heckscher-Ohlin world, 1976-2000," Economics Series Working Papers 356, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    11. Olivier Cadot & Yuliya Shakurova, 2010. "Endowments, Specialization, and Policy," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(5), pages 913-923, November.
    12. James R. Markusen, 2021. "Putting per-capita income back into trade theory," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 10, pages 187-197, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    13. Peter M. Morrow, 2008. "East is East and West is West: A Ricardian-Heckscher-Ohlin Model of Comparative Advantage," Working Papers 575, Research Seminar in International Economics, University of Michigan.
    14. Shikher, Serge, 2011. "Capital, technology, and specialization in the neoclassical model," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 229-242, March.
    15. Fadinger, Harald, 2011. "Productivity differences in an interdependent world," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 221-232, July.
    16. Chapda Nana, Guy & Larue, Bruno & Gervais, Jean-Philippe, 2012. "Regional integration and dynamic adjustments: Evidence from gross national product functions for Canada and the United States," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 246-264.
    17. John Romalis, 2004. "Factor Proportions and the Structure of Commodity Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 67-97, March.
    18. Amoroso, Nicolás & Chiquiar, Daniel & Ramos-Francia, Manuel, 2011. "Technology and endowments as determinants of comparative advantage: Evidence from Mexico," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 164-196, August.
    19. Francesco Daveri & Cecilia Jona-Lasinio, 2005. "Italy's Decline: Getting the Facts Right," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 64(4), pages 365-410, December.
    20. Baldwin, Richard & Haaland, Jan I. & Venables, Anthony J., 2025. "Technical change, jobs, and wages in the global economy," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • F1 - International Economics - - Trade
    • F11 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Neoclassical Models of Trade
    • 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:eaa:aeinde:v:10:y:2010:i:2_3. 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: M. Carmen Guisan (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.usc.es/economet/eaa.htm .

    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.