Comparative Advantage and Heterogeneous Firms

S-Tier
Journal: Review of Economic Studies
Year: 2007
Volume: 74
Issue: 1
Pages: 31-66

Score contribution per author:

2.681 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper examines how country, industry, and firm characteristics interact in general equilibrium to determine nations' responses to trade liberalization. When firms possess heterogeneous productivity, countries differ in relative factor abundance, and industries vary in factor intensity, falling trade costs induce reallocations of resources both within and across industries and countries. These reallocations generate substantial job turnover in all sectors, spur relatively more creative destruction in comparative advantage industries than in comparative disadvantage industries, and magnify ex ante comparative advantage to create additional welfare gains from trade. The improvements in aggregate productivity as countries liberalize dampen and can even reverse the real-wage losses of scarce factors. Copyright 2007, Wiley-Blackwell.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:oup:restud:v:74:y:2007:i:1:p:31-66
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-24