CHAPTER 3—SOURCES OF COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. Which of the following suggests that a nation will export the commodity in the production of which a great deal of its relatively abundant and cheap factor is used? a. The Linder theory b. The product life cycle theory c. The MacDougall theory d. The Heckscher-Ohlin theory ANS: D PTS: 1 2. According to Staffan Linder, trade between two countries tends to be most pronounced when the countries: a. Find their tastes and preferences to be quite harmonious b. Experience economies of large-scale production over large output levels c. Face dissimilar relative abundances of the factors of production d. Find their per capita income levels to be approximately the same ANS: D PTS: 1 3. Which of the following is a long-run theory, emphasizing changes in the trading position of a nation over a number of years? a. Theory of factor endowments b. Comparative advantage theory c. Theory of the product cycle d. Overlapping demand theory ANS: C PTS: 1 4. The Leontief paradox questioned the validity of the theory of: a. Comparative advantage b. Factor endowments c. Overlapping demands d. Absolute advantage ANS: B PTS: 1 5. Which of the following would least likely apply to the product life cycle theory? a. Calculators and computers b. Coal and crude oil c. Home movie cameras d. Office machinery ANS: B PTS: 1 6. Classical trade theory emphasized which of the following as an underlying explanation of the basis for trade? a. Productivities of labor inputs b. Tastes and preferences among nations c. Changes in technologies over time © 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. This edition is intended for use outside of the U.S. only, with content that may be different from the U.S. Edition. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. d. Quantities of economic resources ANS: A PTS: 1 7. Concerning the influence that transportation costs have on the location of industry, which of the following industries has generally attempted to locate production facilities close to resource supplies? a. Autos b. Steel c. Soft drinks d. Valuable electronics goods ANS: B PTS: 1 8. Assume that Country A, in the absence of trade, finds itself relatively abundant in labor and relatively scarce in land. The factor endowment theory reasons that with free trade, the internal distribution of national income in Country A will change in favor of: a. Labor b. Land c. Both labor and land d. Neither labor nor land ANS: A PTS: 1 9. When considering the effects of transportation costs, the conclusions of our trade model must be modified. This is because transportation costs result in: a. Lower trade volume, higher import prices, smaller gains from trade b. Lower trade volume, lower import prices, smaller gains from trade c. Higher trade volume, higher import prices, smaller gains from trade d. Higher trade volume, lower import prices, greater gains from trade ANS: A PTS: 1 10. Most economists maintain that the major factor underlying wage stagnation in the United States in the 1990s has been: a. Import competition b. Technological change c. Rising real value of the minimum wage d. Increasing union membership ANS: B PTS: 1 11. Assume the cost of transporting autos from Japan to Canada exceeds the pretrade price difference for autos between Japan and Canada. Trade in autos is: a. Impossible b. Possible c. Highly profitable d. Moderately profitable ANS: A PTS: 1 12. Eli Heckscher and Bertil Ohlin are associated with the theory of comparative advantage that stresses differences in: a. Income levels among countries b. Tastes and preferences among countries © 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. This edition is intended for use outside of the U.S. only, with content that may be different from the U.S. Edition. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. c. Resource endowments among countries d. Labor productivities among countries ANS: C PTS: 1 13. Hong Kong is relatively abundant in labor, while Canada is relatively abundant in capital. In both countries the production of shirts is relatively more labor intensive than the production of computers. According to the factor endowment theory, Hong Kong will have a(n): a. Absolute advantage in the production of shirts and computers b. Absolute advantage in the production of computers c. Comparative advantage in the production of shirts d. Comparative advantage in the production of computers ANS: C PTS: 1 14. If Japanese workers receive lower wages in the production of autos than do American workers: a. Japan will have a comparative advantage in the production of autos b. Japan will have an absolute advantage in the production of autos c. Production costs will be lower in Japan than in the U.S. d. Production costs could be lower in the U.S. if American labor productivity is higher than the Japanese ANS: D PTS: 1 15. Which trade theory suggests that a newly produced good, once exported, could ultimately end up being imported as the technology is transferred to lower- cost nations? a. Factor endowment theory b. Product life cycle theory c. Overlapping demand theory d. Comparative advantage theory ANS: B PTS: 1 16. A firm is said to enjoy economies of scale over the range of output for which the long-run average cost is: a. Increasing b. Constant c. Decreasing d. None of the above ANS: C PTS: 1 17. A product will be internationally traded as long as the pretrade price differential between the trading partners is: a. Greater than the cost of transporting it between them b. Equal to the cost of transporting it between them c. Less than the cost of transporting it between them d. None of the above ANS: A PTS: 1 18. Which of the following suggests that by widening the market's size, international trade can permit longer production runs for manufacturers, which leads to increasing efficiency? a. Economies of scale © 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. This edition is intended for use outside of the U.S. only, with content that may be different from the U.S. Edition. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. b. Diseconomies of scale c. Comparative cost theory d. Absolute cost theory ANS: A PTS: 1 19. The Leontief paradox: a. Was applied to the product life cycle theory b. Suggested that the U.S. exports labor-intensive goods c. Found that national income differences underlie world trade patterns d. Implied that diseconomies of scale occur at low output levels ANS: B PTS: 1 20. Which of the following best applies to the theory of overlapping demands? a. Manufactured goods b. Services c. Primary products d. None of the above ANS: A PTS: 1 21. The Heckscher-Ohlin theory explains comparative advantage as the result of differences in countries': a. Economies of large-scale production b. Relative abundance of various resources c. Relative costs of labor d. Research and development ANS: B PTS: 1 22. Boeing aircraft company was able to cover its production costs of the first "jumbo jet" in the 1970s because Boeing could market it to several foreign airlines in addition to domestic airlines. This illustrates: a. How economies of scale make possible a larger variety of products in international trade b. A transfer of wealth from domestic consumers to domestic producers as the result of trade c. How a natural monopoly is forced to behave more competitively with international trade d. How a natural monopoly is forced to behave less competitively with international trade ANS: A PTS: 1 23. Which trade theory contends that a country that initially develops and exports a new product may eventually become an importer of it and may no longer manufacture the product? a. Theory of factor endowments b. Theory of overlapping demands c. Economies of scale theory d. Product life cycle theory ANS: D PTS: 1 24. The theory of overlapping demands predicts that trade in manufactured goods is unimportant for countries with very different: a. Tastes and preferences b. Expectations of future interest rate levels c. Per-capita income levels © 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. This edition is intended for use outside of the U.S. only, with content that may be different from the U.S. Edition. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. d. Labor productivities ANS: C PTS: 1 25. The trade model of the Swedish economists Heckscher and Ohlin maintains that: a. Absolute advantage determines the distribution of the gains from trade b. Comparative advantage determines the distribution of the gains from trade c. The division of labor is limited by the size of the world market d. A country exports goods for which its resource endowments are most suited ANS: D PTS: 1 26. According to the factor endowment model, countries heavily endowed with land will: a. Devote excessive amounts of resources to agricultural production b. Devote insufficient amounts of resources to agricultural production c. Export products that are land-intensive d. Import products that are land-intensive ANS: C PTS: 1 27. For the United States, empirical studies indicate that over the past two decades the cost of international transportation relative to the value of U.S. imports has: a. Increased b. Decreased c. Not changed d. None of the above ANS: B PTS: 1 28. Should international transportation costs decrease, the effect on international trade would include: a. An increase in the volume of trade b. A smaller gain from trade c. A decline in the income of home producers d. A decrease in the level of specialization in production. ANS: A PTS: 1 29. That the division of labor is limited by the size of the market best applies to which explanation of trade? a. Factor endowment theory b. Product life cycle theory c. Economies of scale theory d. Overlapping demand theory ANS: C PTS: 1 30. A larger variety of products results from international trade especially if: a. International trade affords producers monopoly power b. National governments levy import tariffs and quotas c. Producing goods entails increasing costs d. Economies of scale exist for producers ANS: D PTS: 1 © 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. This edition is intended for use outside of the U.S. only, with content that may be different from the U.S. Edition. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 31. With economies of scale and decreasing unit costs, a country has the incentive to: a. Specialize completely in the product of its comparative advantage b. Specialize partially in the product of its comparative advantage c. Specialize completely in the product of its comparative disadvantage d. Specialize partially in the product of its comparative disadvantage ANS: A PTS: 1 32. Proponents of ____ maintain that government should enact policies that encourage the development of emerging, "sunrise" industries. a. Product life cycle policy b. Static comparative advantage policy c. Intraindustry trade policy d. Industrial policy ANS: D PTS: 1 33. Legislation requiring domestic manufacturers to install pollution abatement equipment tends to promote: a. Higher production costs and an increase in output b. Higher production costs and a decrease in output c. Lower production costs and an increase in output d. Lower production costs and a decrease in output ANS: B PTS: 1 34. Stringent governmental regulations (e.g., air quality standards) imposed on domestic steel manufacturers tend to: a. Enhance their competitiveness in the international market b. Detract from their competitiveness in the international market c. Increase the profitability and productivity of domestic manufacturers d. Reduce the market share of foreign firms selling steel in the domestic market ANS: B PTS: 1 35. Among the determinants underlying a country's international competitiveness in business services (e.g., construction) are: a. The potential scale economies afforded by a market's size b. Abundance of equipment including data processing facilities and computers c. Skills and capabilities of employees and their wage rates d. All of the above ANS: D PTS: 1 36. The simultaneous import and export of computers by Germany is an example of: a. Intraindustry trade b. Interindustry trade c. Perfect competition d. Imperfect competition ANS: A PTS: 1 37. Linder's theory of overlapping demand provides an explanation of: a. Product life cycle theory © 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. This edition is intended for use outside of the U.S. only, with content that may be different from the U.S. Edition. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. b. Factor endowment model c. Economies of large-scale production d. Intraindustry trade ANS: D PTS: 1 38. Intraindustry trade can be explained in part by: a. Adam Smith's principle of absolute advantage b. Perfect competition in product markets c. Diseconomies of large scale production d. Transportation costs between and within nations ANS: D PTS: 1 39. The Leontief paradox provided: a. Support for the principle of absolute advantage b. Support for the factor endowment model c. Evidence against the factor endowment model d. Evidence against the principle of absolute advantage ANS: C PTS: 1 40. Which trade theory suggests that comparative advantage tends to shift from one nation to another as a product matures? a. Interindustry trade theory b. Intraindustry trade theory c. Product life cycle theory d. Overlapping demand theory ANS: C PTS: 1 41. Which trade theory is tantamount to a short-run version of the factor price equalization theory? a. Specific factors theory b. Product life cycle theory c. Economies of scale theory d. Overlapping demand theory ANS: A PTS: 1 42. According to the specific factors trade theory: a. Owners of factors specific to export industries suffer from trade, while owners of factors specific to import-competing industries gain b. Owners of factors specific to export industries gain from trade, while owners of factors specific to import-competing industries suffer c. Both owners of factors specific to export industries and owners of factors specific to import-competing industries gain from trade d. Both owners of factors specific to export industries and owners of factors specific to import-competing industries suffer from trade ANS: B PTS: 1 43. Which nation has sometimes been characterized as being a "pollution haven" due to its lenient environmental standards that encourage the production of pollution-intensive goods? a. Japan © 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. This edition is intended for use outside of the U.S. only, with content that may be different from the U.S. Edition. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. b. Canada c. Germany d. Mexico ANS: D PTS: 1 44. Boeing Inc. has criticized The Airbus Company's competitiveness on the grounds that Airbus benefits from: a. Import tariffs protecting Airbus in the European market b. Import quotas protecting Airbus in the European market c. Lenient environmental standards of European governments d. Production subsidies supplied by European governments ANS: D PTS: 1 45. To justify the subsidies it has received from European governments, The Airbus Company has used all of the following arguments except: a. Its subsidies have prevented U.S. aircraft firms from holding a world-wide monopoly b. U.S. aircraft firms have benefited from military-sponsored programs of the U.S. government c. Airbus' subsidies were totally repaid as the firm realized profits on its aircraft sales d. Without subsidies to Airbus, Europe would be dependent on the United States as a supplier of aircraft ANS: C PTS: 1 46. Expanding trade or technological improvements a. Increases the demand for skilled workers in the U.S. b. Decreases the demand for unskilled workers in the U.S. c. Increases the demand for unskilled workers in the U.S. d. Both a and b. ANS: D PTS: 1 47. Economists agree that wages of unskilled workers are being held down by a. International trade b. Technology improvements c. Lack of education d. A combination of a, b, and c ANS: D PTS: 1 48. The factor endowment theory states that comparative advantage is explained a. Exclusively by differences in relative supply conditions b. Exclusively by differences in relative national demand conditions c. Both supply and demand conditions d. None of the above ANS: A PTS: 1 49. The factor endowment theory assumes a. Same tastes and preferences b. Factor inputs of uniform quality c. Same technology © 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. This edition is intended for use outside of the U.S. only, with content that may be different from the U.S. Edition. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. d. All of the above ANS: D PTS: 1 50. In explaining international trade, the product life cycle theory focuses on a. Tastes and preferences b. The role of technological innovation c. Per-capita income levels of nations d. Both b and c ANS: B PTS: 1 TRUE/FALSE 1. According to Ricardian theory, comparative advantage depends on relative differences in labor productivity. ANS: T PTS: 1 2. The Heckscher-Ohlin theory asserts that relative differences in labor productivity underlie comparative advantage. ANS: F PTS: 1 3. The factor-endowment theory highlights the relative abundance of a nation's resources as the key factor underlying comparative advantage. ANS: T PTS: 1 4. According to the factor-endowment theory, a nation will export that good for which a large amount of the relatively scarce resource is used. ANS: F PTS: 1 5. According to the factor-endowment theory, a nation will import that good for which a large amount of the relatively abundant resource is used. ANS: F PTS: 1 6. The Heckscher-Ohlin theory suggests that land-abundant nations will export land-intensive goods while labor-abundant nations will export labor-intensive goods. ANS: T PTS: 1 7. The Heckscher-Ohlin theory contends that over a period of years a country that initially is an exporter of a product will become an importer of that product. ANS: F PTS: 1 © 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. This edition is intended for use outside of the U.S. only, with content that may be different from the U.S. Edition. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 8. The Heckscher-Ohlin theory emphasizes the role that demand plays in the creation of comparative advantage. ANS: F PTS: 1 9. The factor-endowment theory asserts that with specialization and trade there tends to occur an equalization in the relative resource prices of trading partners. ANS: T PTS: 1 10. According to the factor-endowment theory, international specialization and trade cause a nation's cheap resource to become cheaper and a nation's expensive resource to become more expensive. ANS: F PTS: 1 11. Fears about the downward pressure that cheap foreign workers place on U.S. wages have led U.S. labor unions to lobby for import restrictions such as tariffs and quotas. ANS: T PTS: 1 12. According to the factor-price-equalization theory, international trade results in the relative differences in resource prices between nations being eliminated. ANS: T PTS: 1 13. Empirical testing by Wassily Leontief gave support to the Heckscher-Ohlin theory of trade. ANS: F PTS: 1 14. The Leontief Paradox was the first major challenge to the product-life-cycle theory of trade. ANS: F PTS: 1 15. The Leontief Paradox suggested that, in contrast to the predictions of the factor-endowment theory, U.S. exports were less capital-intensive than U.S. import-competing goods. ANS: T PTS: 1 16. The specific-factors theory analyzes the income distribution effects of trade in the short run when resources are immobile among industries. ANS: T PTS: 1 17. Owners of resources specific to export industries tend to lose from international trade, while owners of factors specific to import-competing industries tend to gain. ANS: F PTS: 1 18. The factor-price-equalization theory is a short-run version of the specific-factors theory. ANS: F PTS: 1 © 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. This edition is intended for use outside of the U.S. only, with content that may be different from the U.S. Edition. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 19. With economies of scale, specialization in a few products allows a manufacturer to benefit from longer production runs which lead to decreasing average cost. ANS: T PTS: 1 20. With decreasing costs, a country has an incentive to partially specialize in the product of its comparative advantage. ANS: F PTS: 1 21. By widening the size of the domestic market, international trade permits companies to take advantage of longer production runs and increasing efficiencies such as mass production. ANS: T PTS: 1 22. The theory of overlapping demands applies best to trade in manufactured goods. ANS: T PTS: 1 23. Decreasing cost conditions lead to complete specialization in the production of the commodity of comparative advantage. ANS: T PTS: 1 24. According to Staffan Linder, the factor endowment theory is useful in explaining trade patterns in manufactured goods, but not primary products. ANS: F PTS: 1 25. The theory of overlapping demands asserts that trade in manufactured goods is stronger the less similar the demand structures of two countries. ANS: F PTS: 1 26. The theory of overlapping demands contends that international trade in manufactured products is strongest among nations with similar income levels. ANS: T PTS: 1 27. According to the theory of overlapping demands, trade in manufactured goods would be greater among two wealthy countries than among a wealthy country and a poor country. ANS: T PTS: 1 28. Recent studies of U.S. resource endowments indicate that the United States is most abundant in unskilled labor, followed by semi-skilled labor and skilled labor. ANS: F PTS: 1 © 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. This edition is intended for use outside of the U.S. only, with content that may be different from the U.S. Edition. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 29. Intraindustry trade would occur if computers manufactured in the United States by IBM are exported to Japan while the United States imports computers manufactured by Hitachi of Japan. ANS: T PTS: 1 30. Because seasons in the Southern Hemisphere are opposite those in the Northern Hemisphere, one would expect intraindustry trade to occur in agricultural products. ANS: T PTS: 1 31. Intraindustry trade can be explained by product differentiation, economies of scale, seasons of the year, and transportation costs. ANS: T PTS: 1 32. According to the theory of intraindustry trade, many manufactured goods undergo a trade cycle in which the home country initially is an exporter and eventually becomes an importer of a product. ANS: F PTS: 1 33. The product-life-cycle theory applies best to trade in primary products in the short run. ANS: F PTS: 1 34. According to the product-life-cycle theory, the first stage of a product's trade cycle is when it is introduced to the home market. ANS: T PTS: 1 35. According to the product life cycle theory, the last stage of a product's trade cycle is when it becomes an import-competing good. ANS: T PTS: 1 36. Ricardo's theory of comparative advantage is a static theory that does not consider changes in international competitiveness over the long run. ANS: T PTS: 1 37. Dynamic comparative advantage refers to the creation of comparative advantage through the mobilization of skilled labor, technology, and capital. ANS: T PTS: 1 38. Industrial policy seeks to direct resources to declining industries in which productivity is low, linkages to the rest of the economy are weak, and future competitiveness is remote. ANS: F PTS: 1 © 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. This edition is intended for use outside of the U.S. only, with content that may be different from the U.S. Edition. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 39. Europe's jumbo-jet manufacturer, Airbus, has justified receiving governmental subsidies on the grounds that the subsidies prevent the United States from becoming a monopoly in the jumbo-jet market. ANS: T PTS: 1 40. The imposition of pollution-control regulations on domestic steel manufacturers leads to decreases in production costs and an improvement in the steel manufacturers' competitiveness. ANS: F PTS: 1 41. Empirical studies conclude that U.S. environmental policies are a more important determinant of trade performance than capital, raw materials, labor skills, and wages. ANS: F PTS: 1 42. Most developing countries have pollution-control laws and enforcement policies that are more stringent than those of the major industrial countries. ANS: F PTS: 1 43. Although the theory of comparative advantage explains trade in manufactured goods, it has no explanatory value for trade in business services. ANS: F PTS: 1 44. When transportation costs are added to our trade model, the low-cost exporting country produces less, consumes more, and exports less than that which occurs in the absence of transportation costs. ANS: T PTS: 1 45. When transportation costs are added to our trade model, the degree of specialization in production between two countries increases as do the gains from trade. ANS: F PTS: 1 46. In the absence of transportation costs, free trade results in the equalization of the prices of traded goods, as well as resource prices, in the trading nations. ANS: T PTS: 1 47. In industries where the final product is much less weighty or bulky than the materials from which it is made, firms tend to locate production near resource supplies. ANS: T PTS: 1 48. Industrial processes that add weight or bulk to a commodity are likely to be located near the resource market to minimize transportation costs. ANS: F PTS: 1 © 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. This edition is intended for use outside of the U.S. only, with content that may be different from the U.S. Edition. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 49. A product will be traded only if the cost of transporting it between nations is less than the pretrade difference between their relative product prices. ANS: T PTS: 1 50. Generally speaking, transportation costs are more important than production costs as a source of comparative advantage. ANS: F PTS: 1 51. The product-life-cycle model contends that when a new product is introduced to the home market, it generally requires low-skilled labor to produce it. ANS: F PTS: 1 52. According to the product life cycle model, comparative advantage shifts from cheap-labor countries to high-technology countries after a manufactured good becomes standardized. ANS: F PTS: 1 SHORT ANSWER 1. Does factor price equalization occur in the real world? ANS: In the real world, differences in factor prices tend to exist. Different technologies, imperfect markets, transportation costs, and trade barriers may prevent factor prices from equalizing among nations. PTS: 1 2. What is the focus of the product life cycle theory, and where is it applicable? ANS: The product life cycle theory focuses on the role of technological innovation as a key determinant of trade patterns. It applies to manufactured goods. PTS: 1 ESSAY 1. Explain how immigration and trade may worsen wage inequality, and how college education may mitigate against that. ANS: Trade tends to increase the demand for skilled workers relative to unskilled workers, thus worsening wage inequality. Immigration of unskilled workers decreases the supply of skilled workers relative to unskilled workers, thus worsening wage inequality. Alternatively, college education increases the supply of skilled workers relative to unskilled workers, thus reducing wage inequality. PTS: 1 © 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. This edition is intended for use outside of the U.S. only, with content that may be different from the U.S. Edition. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 2. How does Staffan Linder explain world trade patterns? ANS: Linder offers two explanations of world trade patterns. Trade in primary products conforms well to the factor-endowment theory. However, trade in manufactured goods is best explained by overlapping demand structures among nations. For manufactured goods, the basis for trade is stronger when the structure of demand in two nations is more similar, due to similar per-capita incomes. PTS: 1 © 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. This edition is intended for use outside of the U.S. only, with content that may be different from the U.S. Edition. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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