3. 1st British African colony to win independence (1957).
Nkrumah (Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah) espoused pan
African socialism.
High tariffs.
Anti export (trade) policy.
4. Kept lowering tariffs on manufactured goods.
Created incentives to export (trade).
Reduced quotas.
Reduced subsidies.
1950s: 77% of employment in agriculture. Now 20%.
Manufacturing GNP went from 10% to over 30%.
18. The Theory of Absolute
Advantage
Rice
Cocoa
Figure 4.1
G’
0 5 10 15 20
5101520
A
B
K
G
K’
19. The Theory of Absolute Advantage
and the Gains from Trade
Production and Consumption without Trade
S. Korea 2.5 10.0
Total production 20 20
S. Korea 6.0 14.0
Resources Required to Produce 1 Ton of Cocoa and Rice
Cocoa Rice
Ghana 10 20
S. Korea 40 10
Ghana 10.0 5.0
Total production 12.5 15.0
Production with Specialization
Ghana 20 0
S. Korea 0 20
Consumption after Ghana Trades 6T of Cocoa for 6TSouth Korean Rice
Ghana 14.0 6.0
Increase in Consumption as a Result of Specialization and Trade
Ghana 4.0 1.0
S. Korea 3.5 4.0 Table 4.1
21. Theory of Comparative
Advantage
•Assume Ghana is more efficient in production of both cocoa and
rice.
Scenario 1:
•In Ghana it takes 10 resources to produce 1 ton of cocoa and 13 1/3
resources to produce 1 ton of rice.
•Thus with 200 resources Ghana can produce 20 tons (200/10)of
cocoa and no rice. Or 15 tons of rice(200/13.33) and no cocoa or any
combination of the two.
•In South Korea it takes 40 resources to produce 1 ton of cocoa and
20 resources to produce 1 ton of rice.
•Thus , with 200 resources Korea can produce 5(200/40) tons of
cocoa and no rice or 10 tons of rice and no cocoa or any combination
of the two on its PPF.
22. The Theory of Comparative
Advantage
Figure 4.2
3.75 7.5
2.5
0 5 10 15 20
5101520
Cocoa
Rice
G
C
A
K
K’
B
G’
23. Theory of Comparative
Advantage
Scenario 2:
If both the countries use half of the resources to produce cocoa
and half of the resources to produce rice:
•Thus with 100 resources for each of the products, Ghana can
produce 10 tons (100/10)of cocoa and 7.5 tons(100/13.33) of rice.
•In the same way with 100 resources Korea would produce 2.5
tons(100/40) of cocoa and 5 tons(100/20) of rice.
•So without trade the total production would be 12.5(10+2.5) tons
of cocoa and 12.5(7.5+5) tons of rice.
24. The Theory of Comparative
Advantage (Specialization)
3.75 7.5
2.5
0 5 10 15 20
5101520
Cocoa
Rice
G
A(100 resources for each
(10 cocoa & 7.5 rice))
K
K’
G’
A’ (100 resources for each, 2.5 cocoa
and 5 rice)
25. Theory of Comparative
Advantage
Scenario 3: International Trade takes Place:
Cocoa to Rice Ratio in Ghana: 10: 7.5 or 4:3 or 1: 0.75
Cocoa to Rice ratio in Korea: 2.5:5 or 1:2
Cocoa is cheaper in Ghana. So Ghana can sell 1 unit of cocoa to
Korea and get 2 units of Rice whereas she can only get 0.75 units
of rice in exchange of giving up 1 unit of cocoa production in her
own country.
So, Ghana would export cocoa and import rice.
26. Theory of Comparative
Advantage
On the other hand,
Rice to cocoa Ratio in korea:5:2.5 or 1:0.5
Rice to cocoa Ratio in Ghana:7.5:10 or 1: 1.33
Rice is cheaper in Korea because Korea can sell 1 unit of Rice to
Ghana and get 1.33 units of cocoa whereas she can only get 0.5
units of cocoa by sacrificing the same amount of rice in her own
country.
SO Comparative Advantage comes into effect
27. Comparative Advantage and the Gains from
Trade
S. Korea 40 20
S. Korea 2.5 5.0
S. Korea 0.0 10.0
S. Korea 4 6
Resources Required to Produce 1 Ton of Cocoa and Rice
Ghana 10 13.33
Production and Consumption without Trade
Ghana 10.0 7.5
Total production 12.5 12.5
Production with Specialization
Ghana 15 3.75
Total production 15 13.75
Consumption after Ghana Trades 4T of Cocoa for 4TSouth Korean Rice
Ghana 11 7.75
Increase in Consumption as a Result of Specialization and Trade
Ghana 1.0 0.25
S. Korea 1.5 1.0
Cocoa Rice
Table 4.2
28. The Theory of Comparative
Advantage
Figure 4.2
3.75 7.5
2.5
0 5 10 15 20
5101520
Cocoa
Rice
G
C
A
K
K’
B
G’
29. The Basic Message of the Theory of
Comparative Advantage
•Potential world Production is higher
greater with unrestricted free trade than
it is with restricted trade.
•Trade is a positive-sum game where all
countries that participate realize
economic gains.
39. The Leontief Paradox?
• No answer as yet
• Maybe because the US has advantages in
innovative technologies which are less
capital intensive but rather skill based
(Computer Software)on the other hand
she may import products that require
heavy machinery and in turn large
amounts of capital.
40. Dilemma Between Ricardo and H-O
• H-O theoretically stronger but Ricardo more accurate
in predicting patterns of international trade.
• The US exports commercial aircraft and imports cars
not because it lacks the necessary factor
endowments for cars but because it is more efficient
in producing aircrafts. Same true for Japan.
• H-O assumes technology is same across countries.
• So the solution to this dilemma maybe to resort to
the Ricardian idea of productivity. Once technology
is same then H-O comes into play.
61. Implications for Business
• Location implications:makes sense to disperse
production activities to countries where they
can be performed most efficiently.
• First-mover implications:It pays to invest
substantial financial resources in building a
first-mover, or early-mover, advantage.
• Policy implications:promoting free trade is
generally in the best interests of the home-
country, although not always in the best
interests of the firm. Even though, many firms
promote open markets.