IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/88779.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Endogenous Comparative Advantage

Author

Listed:
  • Moro, Andrea
  • Norman, Peter

Abstract

We develop a model of trade between identical countries. Workers endogenously acquire skills that are imperfectly observed by firms, who therefore use aggregate country investment as the prior when evaluating workers. This creates an informational externality interacting with general equilibrium effects on each country’s skill premium. Asymmetric equilibria with comparative advantages exist even when there is a unique equilibrium under autarky. Symmetric, no-trade equilibria may be unstable under free trade. Welfare effects are ambiguous: trade may be Pareto improving even if it leads to an equilibrium with rich and poor countries, with no special advantage to country size.

Suggested Citation

  • Moro, Andrea & Norman, Peter, 2005. "Endogenous Comparative Advantage," MPRA Paper 88779, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 01 Mar 2018.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:88779
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/88779/1/MPRA_paper_88779.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Harris, Richard G. & Robertson, Peter E., 2013. "Trade, wages and skill accumulation in the emerging giants," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(2), pages 407-421.
    2. Costinot, Arnaud, 2009. "On the origins of comparative advantage," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(2), pages 255-264, April.
    3. Joseph G. Altonji & Charles R. Pierret, 2001. "Employer Learning and Statistical Discrimination," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(1), pages 313-350.
    4. Findlay, Ronald & Kierzkowski, Henryk, 1983. "International Trade and Human Capital: A Simple General Equilibrium Model," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 91(6), pages 957-978, December.
    5. Rune V. Lesner, 2018. "Testing for Statistical Discrimination Based on Gender," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 32(2), pages 141-181, June.
    6. Chisik, Richard, 2003. "Export industry policy and reputational comparative advantage," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(2), pages 423-451, March.
    7. Paul Krugman & Anthony J. Venables, 1995. "Globalization and the Inequality of Nations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(4), pages 857-880.
    8. Bonfatti, Roberto & Ghatak, Maitreesh, 2013. "Trade and the allocation of talent with capital market imperfections," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 187-201.
    9. Krugman, Paul, 1980. "Scale Economies, Product Differentiation, and the Pattern of Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(5), pages 950-959, December.
    10. Chatterjee, Arpita, 2017. "Endogenous comparative advantage, gains from trade and symmetry-breaking," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 102-115.
    11. Araujo, Luis & Mion, Giordano & Ornelas, Emanuel, 2016. "Institutions and export dynamics," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 2-20.
    12. Lisa B. Kahn & Fabian Lange, 2014. "Employer Learning, Productivity, and the Earnings Distribution: Evidence from Performance Measures," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 81(4), pages 1575-1613.
    13. Henry S. Farber & Robert Gibbons, 1996. "Learning and Wage Dynamics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(4), pages 1007-1047.
    14. Blanchard, Emily & Willmann, Gerald, 2016. "Trade, education, and the shrinking middle class," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 263-278.
    15. Moro, Andrea & Norman, Peter, 2004. "A general equilibrium model of statistical discrimination," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 114(1), pages 1-30, January.
    16. Spiros Bougheas & Richard Kneller & Raymond Riezman, 2011. "Optimal Education Policies And Comparative Advantage," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(5), pages 538-552, December.
    17. Unel Bulent, 2015. "Human Capital Formation and International Trade," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 15(3), pages 1067-1092, July.
    18. Anthony Creane & Thomas D. Jeitschko, 2012. "Shipping the Good Apples Out Under Asymmetric Information," EAG Discussions Papers 201204, Department of Justice, Antitrust Division.
    19. Joshua C. Pinkston, 2009. "A Model of Asymmetric Employer Learning with Testable Implications," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 76(1), pages 367-394.
    20. Peter Norman, 2003. "Statistical Discrimination and Efficiency," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 70(3), pages 615-627.
    21. Auer, Raphael A., 2015. "Human capital and the dynamic effects of trade," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 107-118.
    22. Danziger, Eliav, 2017. "Skill acquisition and the dynamics of trade-induced inequality," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 60-74.
    23. Arnab K. Basu & Nancy Chau, 1998. "Asymmetric Country‐of‐Origin Effects on Intraindustry Trade and the International Quality Race," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 2(2), pages 140-166, June.
    24. Falvey, Rod & Greenaway, David & Silva, Joana, 2010. "Trade liberalisation and human capital adjustment," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 230-239, July.
    25. Casella, Alessandra & Rauch, James E., 2002. "Anonymous market and group ties in international trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 19-47, October.
    26. Basu, Arnab K & Chau, Nancy H, 1998. "Asymmetric Country-of-Origin Effects on Intraindustry Trade and the International Quality," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 2(2), pages 140-166, June.
    27. Gene M. Grossman, 2004. "The Distribution of Talent and the Pattern and Consequences of International Trade," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(1), pages 209-239, February.
    28. Vogel, Jonathan, 2007. "Institutions and moral hazard in open economies," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 495-514, April.
    29. Razin, Assaf & Sadka, Efraim, 2003. "Gains from FDI inflows with incomplete information," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 78(1), pages 71-77, January.
    30. Coate, Stephen & Loury, Glenn C, 1993. "Will Affirmative-Action Policies Eliminate Negative Stereotypes?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(5), pages 1220-1240, December.
    31. Kiminori Matsuyama, 2002. "Explaining Diversity: Symmetry-Breaking in Complementarity Games," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(2), pages 241-246, May.
    32. Matsuyama, Kiminori, 1996. "Why Are There Rich and Poor Countries? Symmetry-Breaking in the World Economy," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 419-439, December.
    33. Jee-Hyeong Park, 2011. "Enforcing International Trade Agreements with Imperfect Private Monitoring," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 78(3), pages 1102-1134.
    34. Puga, Diego & Venables, Anthony J, 1999. "Agglomeration and Economic Development: Import Substitution vs. Trade Liberalisation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(455), pages 292-311, April.
    35. Christopher Cornwell & Jason Rivera & Ian M. Schmutte, 2017. "Wage Discrimination When Identity Is Subjective: Evidence from Changes in Employer-Reported Race," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 52(3), pages 719-755.
    36. Davidson, Carl & Sly, Nicholas, 2014. "A simple model of globalization, schooling and skill acquisition," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 209-227.
    37. Ethier, Wilfred J, 1982. "Decreasing Costs in International Trade and Frank Graham's Argument for Protection," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(5), pages 1243-1268, September.
    38. Fabian Lange, 2007. "The Speed of Employer Learning," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 25(1), pages 1-35.
    39. Eicher, T. S., 1999. "Training, adverse selection and appropriate technology: Development and growth in a small open economy," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 23(5-6), pages 727-746, April.
    40. repec:hhs:iuiwop:430 is not listed on IDEAS
    41. Cartiglia, Filippo, 1997. "Credit constraints and human capital accumulation in the open economy," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(1-2), pages 221-236, August.
    42. Ranjan, Priya, 2001. "Dynamic evolution of income distribution and credit-constrained human capital investment in open economies," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 329-358, December.
    43. McCalman, Phillip, 2002. "Multi-lateral trade negotiations and the Most Favored Nation clause," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 151-176, June.
    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. Xin Wang, 2022. "Multinational firms and human capital investment: A dynamic knowledge‐capital model," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(5), pages 1564-1586, 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. Egger, Hartmut & Fischer, Christian, 2020. "Increasing resistance to globalization: The role of trade in tasks," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    2. Lepage, Louis Pierre, 2021. "Endogenous learning, persistent employer biases, and discrimination," CLEF Working Paper Series 34, Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), University of Waterloo.
    3. Lepage, Louis Pierre, 2020. "Endogenous learning and the persistence of employer biases in the labor market," CLEF Working Paper Series 24, Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), University of Waterloo.
    4. Conde-Ruiz, J. Ignacio & Ganuza, Juan José & Profeta, Paola, 2022. "Statistical discrimination and committees," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    5. Falvey, Rod & Greenaway, David & Silva, Joana, 2010. "Trade liberalisation and human capital adjustment," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 230-239, July.
    6. Davidson, Carl & Sly, Nicholas, 2014. "A simple model of globalization, schooling and skill acquisition," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 209-227.
    7. Mingzhi Xu, 2020. "Globalization, the skill premium, and income distribution: the role of selection into entrepreneurship," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 156(3), pages 633-668, August.
    8. Lisa B. Kahn, 2013. "Asymmetric Information between Employers," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(4), pages 165-205, October.
    9. Xin Wang, 2022. "Multinational firms and human capital investment: A dynamic knowledge‐capital model," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(5), pages 1564-1586, May.
    10. Wang, Jun & Li, Bo, 2020. "Does employer learning with statistical discrimination exist in China? Evidence from Chinese Micro Survey Data," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 319-333.
    11. Nathalie Chusseau & Joel Hellier, 2014. "Globalization and social segmentation," Working Papers 339, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    12. Araki, Shota & Kawaguchi, Daiji & Onozuka, Yuki, 2016. "University prestige, performance evaluation, and promotion: Estimating the employer learning model using personnel datasets," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 135-148.
    13. Georg Graetz, 2021. "On the interpretation of diploma wage effects estimated by regression discontinuity designs," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(1), pages 228-258, February.
    14. Jens MohrenweiserBy & Gabriele Wydra-Somaggio & Thomas Zwick, 2020. "Information advantages of training employers despite credible training certificates," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 72(3), pages 651-671.
    15. Melinda Petre, 2018. "Are Employers Omniscient? Employer Learning About Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(3), pages 323-360, July.
    16. Jose Rodriguez Mora, 2013. "The inheritance of Advantage," 2013 Meeting Papers 872, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    17. Ashley C. Craig, 2023. "Optimal Income Taxation with Spillovers from Employer Learning," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 82-125, May.
    18. Waldman, Michael, 2016. "The dual avenues of labor market signaling," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 120-134.
    19. Graetz, Georg, 2023. "Imperfect Signals," IZA Discussion Papers 16104, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Mohrenweiser, Jens & Wydra-Sommaggio, Gaby & Zwick, Thomas, 2015. "Work-related ability as source of information advantages of training employers," ZEW Discussion Papers 15-057, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trade; Specialization; Human Capital; Reputation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • F11 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Neoclassical Models of Trade
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

    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:pra:mprapa:88779. 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: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    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.