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Testing the Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek Theory with a Natural Experiment

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  • Assaf Zimring

    (University of Michigan)

Abstract

This paper uses the historical episode of the near-elimination of commuting from the West Bank into Israel, which caused a large and rapid expansion of the local labor force in the West Bank, to test the predictions of the Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek (HOV) model of trade. I use variation between districts in the West Bank to test these predictions, and find strong support for them: Wage changes were not correlated with the size of the shock to the district labor force (Factor Price Insensitivity); Districts that received larger influx of returning commuters shifted production more towards labor intensive industries (Rybczynski effect); and on the consumption side, the data are consistent with the assumption of identical homothetic preferences, which, combined with the production results, supports the Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek theorem on the factor content of trade.

Suggested Citation

  • Assaf Zimring, 2015. "Testing the Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek Theory with a Natural Experiment," Working Papers 642, Research Seminar in International Economics, University of Michigan.
    • Handle: RePEc:mie:wpaper:642
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    File URL: http://www.fordschool.umich.edu/rsie/workingpapers/Papers626-650/r642.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    6. Miaari, Sami & Zussman, Asaf & Zussman, Noam, 2014. "Employment restrictions and political violence in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 24-44.
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    Cited by:

    1. Belal Fallah & Ayhab Saad, 2018. "Schooling Choices’ Responses to Labor Market Shocks: Evidence From a Natural Experiment," Working Papers 1227, Economic Research Forum, revised 18 Sep 2018.
    2. Bilal Nabeel Falah & Marcelo Bérgolo & Arwa Abu Hashhash & Mohammad Hattawy & Iman Saadeh, 2019. "The Effect of Labor-Demand Shocks on Women’s Participation in the Labor Force: Evidence from Palestine," Working Papers PMMA 2019-08, PEP-PMMA.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek; Rybczynski; West Bank; Natural Experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F11 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Neoclassical Models of Trade
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • F51 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Conflicts; Negotiations; Sanctions

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