A Theory of International Trade: Capital, Knowledge, and Economic Structures

by Wei-Bin Zhang

Overview

Over more than two centuries the development ofeconomic theory has created a wide array of different concepts, theories, and insights. My recent book Capital and Knowledge (Zhang, 1999a) shows how separate economic theories such as the Marxian economics, the Keynesian economics, the general equilibrium theory, and the neoclassical growth theory can be examined within a single theoretical framework. The Capital and Knowledge constructs an economic theory to account for the phenomena explained by the main economic theories (of national economies) in a unified manner. It tries to draw together the disparate branches of economics into a single organized system ofknowledge. This book is a part of my economic theory with endogenous population, capital, knowledge, preferences, sexual division of labor and consumption, institutions, economic structures and exchange values over time and space (Zhang, 1996a). As an extension of the Capital and Knowledge, which is focused on the dynamics of national economies, this book is to construct a theory of international trade. We are concerned with dynamic relations between international division of labor, division of consumption and determination of prices structure in global economy. We examine dynamic interdependence between capital accumulation, knowledge creation and utilization, economic growth, price structures and international trade patterns under free competition. Our theory is constructed on the basis of a few concepts within a compact framework.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783540669173
Publisher:	Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Publication date:	04/13/2000
Series:	Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems , #482
Edition description:	2000
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.36(d)

Table of Contents

1 Introduction.- 1.1 The Ricardian Trade Theory.- 1.2 The Neoclassical Theory.- 1.3 The Heckscher-Ohlin Theory.- 1.4 Trade Theory with Capital Accumulation.- 1.5 Trade with Non-Constant Returns to Scale.- 1.6 Trade Theory with Endogenous Technology.- 1.7 The Structure of the Book.- 2 Global Growth and Trade Patterns.- 2.1 The Trade Model with Capital Accumulation.- 2.2 The Two-Country Economy.- 2.3 Some Special Cases of the Two-Country Economy.- 2.4 Discussing the Multi-Country Case.- 3 Growth, Trade, and Wealth Distribution among Groups.- 3.1 The Dynamic Trade Theory.- 3.2 Equilibrium of the World Economy.- 3.3 The Impact of the Propensity to Hold Wealth.- 3.4 The Impact of Human Capital.- 4 Trade, Time Distribution, and Sexual Division of Labor.- 4.1 International Trade with Sexual Division of Labor.- 4.2 Equilibrium of the Global Economy.- 4.3 Time Allocation and Trade Patterns.- 4.4 The Impact of the Wife’s Human Capital.- 4.5 Concluding Remarks.- 5 Growth and Trade Patterns with National Public Goods.- 5.1 The Trade Model with Public Goods.- 5.2 Equilibria of the Global Economy.- 5.3 The Impact of Changes in the Tax Rate.- 5.4 The Impact of Changes in the Population.- 6 Growth, Trade, and International Migration.- 6.1 The Growth Model with Trade and Migration.- 6.2 Equilibrium of the Global Economy.- 6.3 The Impact of Amenity on Trade and Migration.- 6.4 The Impact of Human Capital on Trade and Migration.- 6.5 Concluding Remarks.- 7 Trade with Endogenous Capital and Knowledge.- 7.1 The Model with Capital and Knowledge.- 7.2 The Dynamics of the Trade System.- 7.3 The Global Economy in the Autarky System.- 7.4 A Comparison of the Autarky and Trade Systems.- 7.5 Concluding Remarks.- 8 Global Economic Growth with Trade and Research.- 8.1 The Model with Trade andResearch.- 8.2 The Dynamics of the Free Trade System.- 8.3 Equilibria and Stability Conditions.- 8.4 Does Free Trade Benefit the World Economy?.- 8.5 The Impact of Knowledge Accumulation Efficiency.- 8.6 Research, Knowledge, and Trade.- 9 Trade Patterns in a Multi-Group and Multi-Sector Global Economy.- 9.1 The Multi-Group and Multi-Sector Model.- 9.2 The Existence of Equilibrium.- 9.3 The Impact of Labor Force and Land.- 9.4 The Impact of Landlords’ Propensity to Consume Foreign Goods.- 9.5 Concluding Remarks.- 10 Global Growth, Trade, and Economic Structures.- 10.1 The Growth Model with Trade and Structures.- 10.2 The Dynamic Properties of the System.- 10.3 The Savings Rates and the World Economy.- 11 A Multi-Sector Trade Model with Endogenous Knowledge.- 11.1 The Multi-Sector Model with Endogenous Knowledge.- 11.2 Equilibria and Stability.- 11.3 The Impact of Knowledge Accumulation Efficiency.- 11.4 The Impact of the Preference for Foreign Goods.- 12 Further Issues on International Trade.- Name Index.