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International Trade - Theory and Policy, 2010a

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United States<br />

L C + L W = L<br />

France<br />

L C ∗ + L W ∗ = L∗<br />

where<br />

L = the labor endowment in the United States (the total number of hours the workforce is willing to<br />

provide)<br />

When the resource constraint holds with equality, it implies that the resource is fully employed. A more<br />

general specification of the model would require only that the sum of labor applied in both industries be<br />

less than or equal to the labor endowment. However, the assumptions of the model will guarantee that<br />

production uses all available resources, <strong>and</strong> so we can use the less general specification with the equal<br />

sign.<br />

Factor Mobility<br />

The one factor of production, labor, is assumed to be immobile across countries. Thus labor cannot move<br />

from one country to another in search of higher wages. However, labor is assumed to be freely <strong>and</strong><br />

costlessly mobile between industries within a country. This means that workers working in the one<br />

industry can be moved to the other industry without any cost incurred by the firms or the workers. The<br />

significance of this assumption is demonstrated in the immobile factor model in Chapter 4 "Factor Mobility<br />

<strong>and</strong> Income Redistribution".<br />

Transportation Costs<br />

The model assumes that goods can be transported between countries at no cost. This assumption<br />

simplifies the exposition of the model. If transport costs are included, it can be shown that the key results<br />

of the model may still be obtained.<br />

Exogenous <strong>and</strong> Endogenous Variables<br />

In describing any model, it is always useful to keep track of which variables are exogenous <strong>and</strong> which are<br />

endogenous. Exogenous variables are those variables in a model that are determined by processes that are<br />

not described within the model itself. When describing <strong>and</strong> solving a model, exogenous variables are<br />

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

Saylor.org<br />

83

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