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International Trade - Theory and Policy, 2010a

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per-unit cost of production would exceed the price, <strong>and</strong> profit would be negative. At wage-rental<br />

combinations below the line, as at points B<strong>and</strong> C, the per-unit cost of production would fall short of the<br />

price, <strong>and</strong> profit would be positive. Notice that the slope of the flatter blue line is −PS/aKSPS/aLS=−aLSaKS.<br />

Similarly, the set of all wage-rental rate combinations that will generate zero profit in the clothing<br />

industry at price PC is given by the steeper red line. All wage-rental combinations above the line, as at<br />

points B <strong>and</strong> D, generate negative profit, while wage-rental combinations below the line, as at A <strong>and</strong> C,<br />

generate positive profit. The slope of the steeper red line is −PC/aKCPC/aLC=−aLCaKC.<br />

The only wage-rental combination that can simultaneously support zero profit in both industries is found<br />

at the intersection of the two zero-profit lines—point E. This point represents the equilibrium wage <strong>and</strong><br />

rental rates that would arise in an H-O model when the price of steel is PS <strong>and</strong> the price of clothing is PC.<br />

Now, suppose there is an increase in the price of one of the goods. Say the price of steel, PS, rises. This<br />

could occur if a country moves from autarky to free trade or if a tariff is placed on imports of steel. The<br />

price increase will cause an outward parallel shift in the blue zero-profit line for steel, as shown in Figure<br />

5.5 "Graphical Depiction of Stolper-Samuelson Theorem". The equilibrium point will shift from E to F, causing<br />

an increase in the equilibrium rental rate from r1 to r2 <strong>and</strong> a decrease in the equilibrium wage rate<br />

from w1 to w2. Only with a higher rental rate <strong>and</strong> a lower wage can zero profit be maintained in both<br />

industries at the new set of prices. Using the slopes of the zero-profit lines, we can show<br />

that aLCaKC>aLSaKS, which means that clothing is labor intensive <strong>and</strong> steel is capital intensive. Thus,<br />

when the price of steel rises, the payment to the factor used intensively in steel production (capital) rises,<br />

while the payment to the other factor (labor) falls.<br />

Figure 5.5 Graphical Depiction of Stolper-Samuelson Theorem<br />

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

Saylor.org<br />

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