Classical models of trade - The ricardian model: comparative advantage

8 important questions on Classical models of trade - The ricardian model: comparative advantage

When does a company have an absolute advantage?

A country has an AA if it requires less factors to produce a good

When does a company have a competitive advantage?

A country has a CA if its opportunity costs are lower to produce a good

The CA differences in country and per kind of product enable trade

How is a country characterized by the Ricardian model?

Technology (aw and ac) and its endowment of labor (inverse= 1/a)
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What is the possibilities production frontier?

The maximum combination given the use of all resources, the ppf shows the maximum combination of goods that can be produced.

The ppf is a resource constraint

Lc + Lw =< L

PPF = Lc + Lw = L

ac Qc + aw Qw = L

Total we can produce => Qc= L/ac

L= acQc + awQw  (linear)

Qw= L/aw  -  ((ac/aw)*Qc)

slope= opportunity costs to produce (opprtunity costs are standard)

The HO model, the further you go down the line the higher the opportunity costs


What happens to the cpf/ppf curve after trade? in Home? in Foreign?

Home
give up .. units of trade
Foreign
give up .. units of trade..

What does the slope of the cpf curve look like?
What does the slope of the ppf curve look like?

ppf: -ac/aw= - (pc/pw) autarky
cpf: slope = - (pc/pw) free trade

price under autarky: pca/pwa

What is the empirical evidence for the Ricardian model?

Ricardian model is a simple model of how the producers will behave in the real world. Belassa (1963) showed that countries export the goods in which they have a comparative advantage.
The ricardian model predicts that the US would export goods in which it has a comparative advantage. The example from brittish export shows that trade depends on comparative advantage not on absolute advantage!

Text book chapter 3

How to determine the changes in the CPF curve, after trade?

New quantity to be consumed is the specialized quantity of the country * free trade price (if cheese)
New quantity to be consumed is the specialized quantity of the country/ free trade price (if wine)
if the free trade price does not change for a country, nothing happens to the cpf so it still lies on top of ppf

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