IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/unm/unumer/2008046.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

To Be or Not to Be at the BOP: A One-North-Many-Souths Model with Subsistence and Luxury Goods

Author

Listed:
  • Zon, Adriaan van

    (UNU-MERIT)

  • Schmidt, Tobias

    (Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW))

Abstract

In this paper we seek to explain the causes and consequences of Northern penetration in Southern subsistence markets in order to reach the countless masses at the Bottom of the (Income) Pyramid. To this end we formulate a One-North-Many-Souths model, inspired by the Krugman (1979) North-South model. In our model, Southern countries are differentiated with respect to population size, but also the degree of internal connectedness as a proxy for the cost involved in reaching the local subsistence market. Northern subsistence goods production in Southern countries takes place under increasing returns to scale, why local production of subsistence goods takes place under constant returns to scale. Using this set-up, we show what kind of Southern countries would be penetrated first, and under which conditions this would happen. From the point of view of Northern producers, Southern countries can be divided into three classes: the broad class of partner- and non partner countries, and within the class of partner countries, the sub-classes of small and large partners. In this context, small partners are so small, that all of local subsistence production is taken over by the North, while in large countries part of subsistence consumption must still be met out of local subsistence production. The main insights coming from numerical simulations with the model are that Northern penetration on Southern markets releases (labor) resources that can then be used for producing tradable luxury goods. This has a negative terms of trade effect for the South, but a positive income effect, while, moreover, the latter effect tends to outweigh the former. In addition, small partner countries generally stand to gain more from Northern penetration than large countries, as in small partner countries relatively more resources would be released when shifting production of subsistence goods from local to Northern technologies. Using numerical simulations in which we increase the rate of imitation, we show that this leads to higher terms of trade for the South, and consequently, a higher penetration of the North in Southern countries with respect to subsistence production. The reason is that the opportunity cost of using Northern labor in Northern luxury goods production falls, and consequently more Northern labor is allocated to its alternative use of managing subsistence goods production in Southern countries. Thus we are able to "explain" the recent penetration of Northern firms in subsistence goods production in countries like India and China (which have become increasingly important as manufacturing trading partners), as the latter countries are both large in population terms as well as relatively well connected.

Suggested Citation

  • Zon, Adriaan van & Schmidt, Tobias, 2008. "To Be or Not to Be at the BOP: A One-North-Many-Souths Model with Subsistence and Luxury Goods," MERIT Working Papers 2008-046, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
  • Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2008046
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://unu-merit.nl/publications/wppdf/2008/wp2008-046.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kiminori Matsuyama, 2000. "A Ricardian Model with a Continuum of Goods under Nonhomothetic Preferences: Demand Complementarities, Income Distribution, and North-South Trade," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(6), pages 1093-1120, December.
    2. Krugman, Paul, 1979. "A Model of Innovation, Technology Transfer, and the World Distribution of Income," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(2), pages 253-266, April.
    3. Helpman, Elhanan, 1993. "Innovation, Imitation, and Intellectual Property Rights," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 61(6), pages 1247-1280, November.
    4. Gene M. Grossman & Elhanan Helpman, 1991. "Quality Ladders and Product Cycles," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 557-586.
    5. Romer, Paul M, 1990. "Endogenous Technological Change," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 71-102, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gino A.Gancia, 2003. "Globalization, Divergence and Stagnation," Development Working Papers 174, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano.
    2. Stadler, Manfred, 2015. "Innovation, industrial dynamics and economic growth," University of Tübingen Working Papers in Business and Economics 84, University of Tuebingen, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, School of Business and Economics.
    3. Hwan C. Lin, 2002. "Shall the Northern Optimal R&D Subsidy Rate Inversely Respond to Southern Intellectual Property Protection?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 69(2), pages 381-397, October.
    4. Lai, Edwin L. -C., 1998. "International intellectual property rights protection and the rate of product innovation," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(1), pages 133-153, February.
    5. Kamal Saggi, 2016. "Trade, Intellectual Property Rights, and the World Trade Organization," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 16-00014, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    6. Foellmi, Reto & Wuergler, Tobias & Zweimüller, Josef, 2014. "The macroeconomics of Model T," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 617-647.
    7. Yang, Guifang & Maskus, Keith E., 2001. "Intellectual property rights, licensing, and innovation in an endogenous product-cycle model," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 169-187, February.
    8. Pol Antràs, 2005. "Incomplete Contracts and the Product Cycle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1054-1073, September.
    9. Azevedo, Mónica L. & Afonso, Óscar & Silva, Sandra T., 2014. "Endogenous growth and intellectual property rights: A north–south modeling proposal," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 112-120.
    10. Borota, Teodora, 2010. "Innovation and Imitation in a Model of North-South TradeRecent evidence on world trade patterns reveals North-South specialization across," Working Paper Series 2010:6, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    11. Glass, Amy Jocelyn & Saggi, Kamal, 2002. "Intellectual property rights and foreign direct investment," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 387-410, March.
    12. Adolfo Cristóbal Campoamor, 2019. "Gradual trade liberalization in a North–South model of the product cycle," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 127(3), pages 265-292, August.
    13. Eicher, Theo & García-Peñalosa, Cecilia, 2008. "Endogenous strength of intellectual property rights: Implications for economic development and growth," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 237-258, February.
    14. Acemoglu, Daron & Gancia, Gino & Zilibotti, Fabrizio, 2012. "Competing engines of growth: Innovation and standardization," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 147(2), pages 570-601.3.
    15. Leite, Duarte N. & Afonso, Óscar & Silva, Sandra T., 2019. "A tale of two countries: Directed technical change, trade and migratory movements," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 173-194.
    16. Foellmi, Reto & Hanslin Grossmann, Sandra & Kohler, Andreas, 2018. "A dynamic North-South model of demand-induced product cycles," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 63-86.
    17. Long, N.V. & Wong, K.Y., 1996. "Endogenous Growth and International Trade: A Survey," Working Papers 96-07, University of Washington, Department of Economics.
    18. Roe, Terry L. & Mohtadi, Hamid, 1999. "International Trade And Growth: An Overview From The Perspective Of The New Growth Theory," 1999 Annual meeting, August 8-11, Nashville, TN 21536, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    19. Yvonne Wolfmayr-Schnitzer, 2000. "Economic Integration, Specialisation and the Location of Industries. A Survey of the Theoretical Literature," Austrian Economic Quarterly, WIFO, vol. 5(2), pages 73-80, May.
    20. Chui, Michael & Levine, Paul & Pearlman, Joseph, 2001. "Winners and losers in a North-South model of growth, innovation and product cycles," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 333-365, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bottom of the Pyramid; North-South model; luxury goods; subsistence goods;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D58 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium - - - Computable and Other Applied General Equilibrium Models
    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2008046. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Ad Notten (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/meritnl.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.