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An Empirical Assessment of the Comparative Advantage Gains from Trade: Evidence from Japan

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Author Info
Daniel M. Bernhofen
John C. Brown
Abstract

We provide an empirical assessment of the comparative advantage gains from trade argument. We use Japan's nineteenth-century opening up to world commerce as a natural experiment to answer the following counterfactual: "By how much would real income have had to increase in Japan during its final autarky years of 1851–1853 to afford the consumption bundle the economy could have obtained if it were engaged in international trade during that period?" Using detailed historical data on trade flows, autarky prices, and Japan's real GDP, we obtain upper bounds on the gains from trade of about 8 to 9 percent of Japan's GDP.

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Article provided by American Economic Association in its journal American Economic Review.

Volume (Year): 95 (2005)
Issue (Month): 1 (March)
Pages: 208-225
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Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:95:y:2005:i:1:p:208-225

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Daniel M. Bernhofen & John C. Brown, 2004. "A Direct Test of the Theory of Comparative Advantage: The Case of Japan," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(1), pages 48-67, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Douglas A. Irwin, 2001. "The Welfare Cost of Autarky: Evidence from the Jeffersonian Trade Embargo, 1807-1809," NBER Working Papers 8692, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Deardorff, Alan V., 1984. "Testing trade theories and predicting trade flows," Handbook of International Economics, in: R. W. Jones & P. B. Kenen (ed.), Handbook of International Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 10, pages 467-517 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Crawcour, E S & Yamamura, Kozo, 1970. "The Tokugawa Monetary System: 1787-1868," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(4), pages 489-518, Part I Ju.
  5. Jeffrey A. Frankel & David Romer, 1999. "Does Trade Cause Growth?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(3), pages 379-399, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Harley, C. Knick, 1982. "British Industrialization Before 1841: Evidence of Slower Growth During the Industrial Revolution," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(02), pages 267-289, June. [Downloadable!]
  7. Huber, J Richard, 1971. "Effect on Prices of Japan's Entry into World Commerce after 1858," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(3), pages 614-28, May-June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Choi, E Kwan & Harrigan, James, 2004. "Handbook of International Trade," Staff General Research Papers 11375, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
  9. Leamer, Edward E. & Levinsohn, James, 1995. "International trade theory: The evidence," Handbook of International Economics, in: G. M. Grossman & K. Rogoff (ed.), Handbook of International Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 26, pages 1339-1394 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Donald R. Davis & David E. Weinstein, 2001. "The Factor Content of Trade," NBER Working Papers 8637, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. Kevin H. O'Rourke & Jeffrey G. Williamson, 2000. "When Did Globalization Begin?," NBER Working Papers 7632, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  12. Harrison, Glenn W & Rutherford, Thomas F & Tarr, David G, 1997. "Quantifying the Uruguay Round," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 107(444), pages 1405-30, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. repec:rus:hseeco:122203 is not listed on IDEAS
  14. Deardorff, Alan V, 1980. "The General Validity of the Law of Comparative Advantage," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 88(5), pages 941-57, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Timothy F. Bresnahan & Robert J. Gordon, 1996. "The Economics of New Goods," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number bres96-1, April.
  16. Corden, W.M., 1984. "The normative theory of international trade," Handbook of International Economics, in: R. W. Jones & P. B. Kenen (ed.), Handbook of International Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 2, pages 63-130 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Masaki Nakabayashi, 2008. "Speed of the price and efficiency of the concession the treaty port market in Japanfs industrialization," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 08-14, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics and Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP). [Downloadable!]
  2. Kris J. Mitchener & Mari Ohnuki, 2008. "Institutions, Competition, and Capital Market Integration in Japan," NBER Working Papers 14090, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Kozo Kiyota, 2007. "On Testing the Law of Comparative Advantage," Working Papers 556, Research Seminar in International Economics, University of Michigan. [Downloadable!]
  4. Mototsugu Shintani & Tomoyoshi Yabu & and Daisuke Nagakura, 2008. "Spurious Regressions in Technical Trading: Momentum or Contrarian?," IMES Discussion Paper Series 08-E-9, Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, Bank of Japan. [Downloadable!]
  5. Kris James Mitchener & Mari Ohnuki, 2008. "Institutions, Competition, and Capital Market Integration in Japan," IMES Discussion Paper Series 08-E-12, Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, Bank of Japan. [Downloadable!]
  6. Toshihiro Atsumi, . "Silk, Regional Rivalry, and the Impact of the Port Openings in Nineteenth Century Japan," Discussion Papers 09/15, University of Nottingham, GEP. [Downloadable!]
  7. Debaere, Peter, 2005. "Small Fish - Big Issues The Effect of Trade Policy on the Global Shrimp Market," CEPR Discussion Papers 5254, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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