A Hybrid Production Structure in Trade: Theory and Implications

Abstract

In models of pure theory of international trade, no unique production structure is dominant. By grafting a specific factor structure onto a Heckscher-Ohlin framework, in a hybrid general equilibrium production model, this paper presents theoretical results with implications such as: (a) the relative price increase of a traded goods sector might have expansionary or contractionary output effect depending on factor intensities; (b) uniform primary-factor augmenting technical progress in the intermediate inputs sector might lead to a decline in the output of one of the sectors; (c) favorable relative price effect in one sector will lead to a drop in the return to the specific capital type depending on the grafted production structure. The proposed framework is useful for explaining stylized facts related to wage inequality, deindustrialization and export-processing, which have a great policy relevance for trade and development.

Keywords: Specific factor, Heckscher-Ohlin, Hybrid structure, Magnification effect, Wage gap

JEL Classification: F10, F11