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International Trade - Theory and Policy, 2010a

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of quantities CS″/CC″. Since CS″/CC″ (PCPS)FRAut.<br />

Any difference in autarky prices between the United States <strong>and</strong> France is sufficient to induce profitseeking<br />

firms to trade. The higher price of clothing in the United States (in terms of steel) will induce<br />

firms in France to export clothing to the United States to take advantage of the higher price. The higher<br />

price of steel in France (in terms of clothing) will induce U.S. steel firms to export steel to France. Thus<br />

the United States, abundant in capital relative to France, exports steel, the capital-intensive good. France,<br />

abundant in labor relative to the United States, exports clothing, the labor-intensive good. This is the H-O<br />

theorem. Each country exports the good intensive in the country’s abundant factor.<br />

KEY TAKEAWAYS<br />

<br />

The H-O theorem states that a country will export that good that is intensive in the country’s abundant<br />

factor.<br />

<br />

In the st<strong>and</strong>ard case, a country will produce more of its export good <strong>and</strong> less of its import good but will<br />

continue to produce both. In other words, specialization does not occur as it does in the Ricardian model.<br />

<br />

<strong>Trade</strong> is motivated by price differences. A capital-abundant (labor-abundant) country exports the capitalintensive<br />

(labor-intensive) good because that product price is initially higher in the labor-abundant<br />

(capital-abundant) country.<br />

EXERCISES<br />

1. Consider an H-O economy in which there are two countries (United States <strong>and</strong> France), two goods (wine<br />

<strong>and</strong> cheese), <strong>and</strong> two factors (capital <strong>and</strong> labor). Assume the United States is labor abundant <strong>and</strong> cheese<br />

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

Saylor.org<br />

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