Heckscher-Ohlin Theory

There is no doubt that increasing in international trade is supporting the economic growth across the world, raising incomes and creating jobs. However, international trade can also some create economic obstacles, such as the international context and the market policy and regulations of each country, and consequently it can be said that the effects would have positive and negative sides, and it is useful to mention all of them and to take them into consideration.

U.S. trade patterns are an important topic of study due to America’s power and central position in the international market. This topic of US trade partners and our trading patterns with those partners has been approached from a variety of perspectives by several economists. Namely, Sattinger (1978), Srivastava and Green (1986), Summary (1989), and Pollins (1989a and 1989b). The literature draws many conclusions from American competitiveness and the political and social factors that help explain bilateral trade patterns the choice of trade partners. And while there is an abundance of literature concerning this topic there has been little done from the perspective of how America’s trade partners have developed and shifted over the last 25 years, which is what this paper will focus on achieving. International trade flows are also an important topic and have been estimated by many economists including, Tinbergen (1962), Anderson (1979), Helpman and Krugman (1985), Helpman (1987), Feenstra (2002), and Anderson and van Wincoop (2003). Each of these researchers used a variant of the gravity model to estimate trade flows which not only demonstrates the continuing empirical validity of the model but gives firm background with which to base this analysis. The basic gravity model states that the volume of trade between two countries is proportional to the size of the two economies, and various measures of trade resistance such as geographical distance between the countries,

A country needs to export more than import in order to maintain a good working economy. Wealth and power equal more export than import in a country’s trading system

Global dependencies have grown since the European colonization of America and Africa, but since that time certain underdeveloped countries have become powerful economies thereby shifting those that were reliant to one whom others rely upon. America and China are two perfect examples of this phenomena. Over the last 40 years Asia has been one of the fastest growing economies relying on the export of goods for a large percentage of its growth. For the past few decades American innovators have been outsourcing production work to China. Nader argues the purpose of outsourcing is to increase profits, but I feel it is to allow for innovation. Without this exporting the U.S. would not have experienced the massive technological growth in recent years. Corporations are now more likely to invest in new technology because of limited risk that cost cutting measures in China allow for. The President needs to understand this and incentivize domestic production rather than punishing foreign production. If the government successfully does this, the United States would experience a growth in production alongside the current growth in technology.

Stephen Broadberry has attributed long-term differences in labour productivity between the UK, USA and Germany over the period 1870-1914 to

David Autor speaks about how the United States is not importing anything that we cannot produce but goods we cannot produce as cheaply as China. In the third Podcast titled “UBI in action, and the need for full employment”

However, it was apparent to economists that nations with similar resource endowments exchanged similar products with each other. Economists felt that trade explained solely by comparative advantage was an incomplete analysis of international trade. Furthermore, since the classical trade theory was unable to explain intraindustry trade, economists decided to expand on the classical trade theory by creating a new theory of trade (Carbaugh, 2011). The new theory states that economies of scale provide incentive for a country to specialize in a particular product (Carbaugh, 2011). Furthermore, based on economies of scale, nations with similar factor endowments will trade with each other as sometimes it is beneficial (Carbaugh, 2011). Arguments stemming from this new trade theory puts the economic case for free trade in doubt.

Which is cost difference determines the patterns of international trade. Absolute advantage is trade benefits when each country is at least cost producer of one of the goods being traded. In the 1800s, David Ricardo developed the theory of comparative advantage to measure gains from trades. This theory is based on comparative advantage and it states each nation should specialize in production of those goods for which its relatively more efficient with a lower opportunity cost.

Moreover, falling terms of trade due to primary product dependency could limit economic development. This is illustrated by the Prebisch-Singer hypothesis states that primary products tend to be income inelastic whereas the demand for manufactured good is income elastic in the long run. Therefore, as real incomes rise, the demand for manufactured goods will increase at a faster rate than the demand for primary products. This therefore means that primary product dependency acts as a limit to development in developing countries because it means that in the long run the terms of trade would be better for manufacturing products thus there would be more financial

The country can maximize their wealth by putting the resources in the most competitive industries. Government created comparative advantage rather than free trade because now easier moves the production processes and the machines into countries that can produce more goods (Yeager & Tuereck, 1984). However, many countries now move to new trade theory suggests the ability firms to limit the number of competitors associated with economic scale (reduction of costs with a large scale of output) (Krugman, 1992). The comparative advantage occurs when two-way trade in identical products, it will useful where economic scale is important, but it will create problem with this model. As a result, government must intervene in international trade for protection to domestic firms (Krugman, 1990)

The theory of comparative advantage explains the benefit of free trade. According to this theory by David Ricardo in the early 19th century, “Both countries will be better off if each specializes in the industry where it has a comparative advantage, and if the two trade with one another.” (Citation) International trade opens up markets to foreign supplier, and domestic companies need to improve their efficiency, boost productivity, and lower cost to increase competitiveness instead of enjoying monopolies or oligopolies that enabled them to keep prices well above marginal costs. On the other hand, international trade also offers domestic companies bigger demands and broader markets; therefore more jobs relevant to export have been created. Furthermore, jobs in the US supported by goods exports pay 13-18 percent more than the US national average (ustr.gov).

The new trade theory began to emerge in the 1970s when a number of economists pointed out that the ability of firms to attain economies of scale might have important implications for international trade (Wickramasekera, Cronk & Hill 2013). This theory is based on two major concepts that are economies of scale and first-mover advantage. To elaborate:

The international trade of goods across the world accounts for approximately 60% of the world Gross Domestic Product (The World Bank, 2014). A great proportion of goods transactions occur every second. The primary question is whether international trade benefits a country as an entirety, and, if so, why would a country implement protective trade policies to restrict particular exports? To address this question, this essay aims to explore the impact of trade on various economic stakeholders, including consumers, producers, labour and government and, furthermore, will compare models and theories with reality to ascertain the true winner/ loser in the international trade market.

Comparative advantage is a principle developed by David Ricardo in the early 19th century to explain the benefits of mutual trade (Carbaugh, 2008). Many underlying assumptions of comparative advantage depend on states of economic equilibrium and an absence of economy of scale. In reality, economies are dynamic and subject to innovation and interference; which has led to revised assumptions of return and competition (Krugman, 1987). These factors have created questions of free trade and governmental participation in an economy by the development of strategic trade policies. These new concepts do not replace the theory of comparative advantage; however, they further explain how trade can benefit a country's economy (Krugman, 1987).

The importance of international trade in the world has been widely studied and also examines the role of international trade in the various issues. Mainly my paper focused on the relationship between Economic Development and international trade, disadvantages of international trade also discussed. International trade is an activity of strategies importance in the development process of a developing economy. International specialization means that different countries of the world specialize in producing different goods. Trade policy formulation and implementation covering issues such as tariffs, incentives, quotas, taxes, customs and administration, subsidies, rules of origin, public procurement regimes, aid and investment, export promotion, trade facilitation and diversification. The role of foreign trade in achieving a quicker pace of economic development is thus well recognized. Hence, planning of foreign trade cannot be divorced from the strategy of overall development. The disadvantage of international trade is that the welfare of the people in nations that produce goods and services is sometimes ignored for the sake of profits. In conclusion it can be said that, international trade leads to economic growth provided the policy measures and economic infrastructure are accommodative enough to cope with the changes in social and financial scenario that result from it.