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International Trade - Theory and Policy, 2010a

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Similarly, by rearranging the above inequality,<br />

(PWPC)Aut>(P∗WP∗C)Aut,<br />

which means that the autarky price of wine is higher in the United States (in terms of cheese) than it is in<br />

France. In other words, a gallon of wine can be exchanged for more cheese in the United States than it will<br />

yield in the French market.<br />

Next, suppose the barriers to trade that induced autarky are suddenly lifted <strong>and</strong> the United States <strong>and</strong><br />

France are allowed to trade freely. For simplicity, we assume there are no transportation costs to move the<br />

products across borders.<br />

Differences in price ratios between countries <strong>and</strong> the desire to make more profit are sufficient to generate<br />

international trade. To explain why, it is useful to incorporate some friction in the trading process <strong>and</strong> to<br />

tell a dynamic story about how a new free trade equilibrium is reached.<br />

First, note that the higher price of cheese in France means that cheese workers in the United States could<br />

get more wine for their cheese in France than in the United States. Suppose one by one over time cheese<br />

workers begin to take advantage of the opportunity for trade <strong>and</strong> begin to sell their cheese in the French<br />

market. We assume that some workers are more internationally adroit <strong>and</strong> thus move first. The<br />

motivation here is profit. Workers want to get more for the goods they are selling. As the U.S. cheese<br />

workers appear in the French market, the supply of cheese increases. This also represents exports of<br />

cheese from the United States to France. The increased supply will reduce the price of cheese in the<br />

French market, meaning that over time, the quantity of wine obtained for a pound of cheese will fall.<br />

Thus PC∗/PW∗ falls once trade is opened.<br />

Next, consider French wine workers immediately after trade opens. Since the price of wine is higher in the<br />

United States, French wine workers will one by one over time begin to sell their wine in the U.S. market.<br />

This represents exports of wine from France to the United States. The increased supply of wine to the<br />

United States lowers its price on the U.S. market. Thus each gallon of wine will trade for less <strong>and</strong> less<br />

cheese. This means PW/PC falls, which also means that its reciprocal, PC/PW, rises.<br />

Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books<br />

Saylor.org<br />

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