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Heckscher-Ohlin Theory

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Introduction

Two Swedish economists Eli Heckscher (1919) and Bertil Ohlin (1933) laid the substantial developments on David Ricardo’s theory of comparative advantage by focusing on the relationships between national factor endowments and commodity trade patterns. Though there have been some attempts to use the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, it seems invalidity in most real-world international trade patterns.

In order to evaluate the validity of the Heckscher-Ohlin theory in today’s environment, pros and cons of the statement are illustrated as following. In pro terms, this theory is a simple international trade model with only two nations, two products and two factors of production based on the similar technology. Because of its simplified assumption, the Heckscher-Ohlin theory can be easily applied to analyse theoretical patterns. However, some assumptions proposed in this theory such as the similar technology, constant return to scale, the same demand condition limit its range only to some particular regions, therefore, it seems very hard to apply this theory in many practical terms. In summary, today’s international trading environment is various and complicated, thus this over-simplified theory cannot be sufficient as a good predictor.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the Heckscher-Ohlin theory to analyse whether it is a good predictor for international trade in today’s environment. In order to do this, I will describe the content of this theory and then ilustrate the arguments both for and against the main topic by using the historical data and examples as well as giving my own opinion. Finally, I will summarise the main arguments and make a conclusion.

Heckscher-Ohlin: A Theoretical Overview

The Heckscher-Ohlin theory differs from the theories of comparative advantage and absolute advantage that focus on the productivity of the production

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