国际经济学答案2.doc

CHAPTER 3 Labor Productivity and Comparative Advantage: The Ricardian Model *Countries engage in international trade for two basic reasons: ?Comparative advantage: countries are different in technology (chapter 3) or resource (chapter 4). ?Economics of scale (chapter 6). *All motives are at work in the real world but only one motive is present in each trade model. §1. The Concept of Comparative Advantage 1. Opportunity cost: The opportunity cost of roses in terms of computers is the number of computers that could have been produced with the resources used to produce a given number of roses. Table 3-1 Hypothetical Changes in Production Million Roses Thousand Computers United States －10 ＋100 South America ＋10 －30 Total 0 ＋70 2. Comparative advantage: A country has a comparative advantage in producing a good if the opportunity cost of producing that good in terms of other goods is lower in that country than it is in other countries. 稤 enoted by opportunity cost. 稟 relative concept: relative labor productivity or relative dabundance. 3. Comparative advantage and trade: Trade between two countries can benefit both countries if each country exports the goods in which it has a comparative advantage. §2. A One-Factor Economy 1.Production possibilities: aLCQC + aLW QLW≤L Figure 3-1 Home’s Production Possibility Frontier 2. Relative price and supply ·Labor will move to the sector which pays higher wage. ·If PC/PWaLC/aLW (PC/aLCPW/aLW, wages in the cheese sector will be higher ), the economy will specialize in the production of cheese. ?In a closed economy, PC/PW =aLC/aLW. §3. Trade in a One-Factor World ?Model: 2?? ? aAssume: aLC/aLW aLC*/aLW* Home has a comparative advantage in cheese. Home’s relative productivity in cheese is higher. Home’s pretrade relative price of cheese is lower than foreign. ?The condition under which home has this comparative advantage involves all four unit labor requirement, not just two. (If each country has absolute advantage in one goo