Problems-and-Answers-to-Chapter-4

1 Problems and Answers to Chapter 4 Q1 In Canada where land is cheap the ratio of land to labor used in cattle raising is higher than that of land used in wheat growing But in more crowded countries where land is expensive and labor is cheap it is common to raise cows by using less land and more labor than Canadians use to grow wheat Can we still say that raising cattle is land intensive compared with farming wheat Why or why not 在土地便宜的加拿大 用来养牛的人均土地要多于用于种植小麦所用的人 均土地 但是在那些比较拥挤的国家里 土地昂贵而劳动力便宜 人们用于养 牛的人均土地通常比加拿大用于种植小麦的人均土地更少 我们是否仍然可以 说 与小麦种植相比 养牛业是土地密集型产品 为什么是或为什么不是 A1 It is incorrect To define cattle raising as land intensive the comparison should be the ratio of land labor used in raising cattle and growing wheat not the land per capita ratio between raising cattle and growing wheat Because the ratio of land to labor used in cattle raising is higher than that of land used in wheat growing in Canada cattle raising is land intensive compared with farming wheat If in other countries the ratio of land to labor used in cattle raising is higher than that of land used used in wheat growing we can say that raising cattle is land intensive compared with farming wheat Q2 Suppose that at current factor prices cloth is produced using 20 hours of labor for each acre of land and that food is produced using only 5 hours of labor per acre 英亩 0 405 公顷 of land a Suppose that the economy s total resources are 1 200 hours of labor and 120 acres of land Use a diagram to determine the allocation of resources b Now suppose that the labor supply increases first to 1 600 then 2 000 then 2 400 hours Using a diagram like Figure 4 9 trace out the changing allocation of resources c What would happen if the labor supply were to increase even further 假设在现有要素价格下 棉布生产中每用 1 英亩的土地就需要投入 20 小 时的劳动 而在生产粮食时 每用 1 英亩的土地只需投入 5 小时的劳动 a 假设该经济拥有的总资源量为 1200 小时的劳动和 120 英亩的土地 用 图表说明资源如何分配 b 现在假设劳动供给分别上升 先到 1600 小时 然后 2000 小时 再到 2400 小时 用一幅如图 4 6 的图展示出资源分配变化的轨迹 c 如果劳动供给继续增加将出现什么样的情形 A2 Given aLC aTC 20 aLF aTF 5 a Suppose L 1200 T 120 2 Figure for Q2a The Allocation of Resources aLCQC aLFQF 1200 aTCQC aTFQF 120 LC LF L TC TF T aLC aTC LC QC TC QC LC TC 20 LC 20TC aLF aTF LF QF TF QF LF TF 5 LF 5TF TC TF 120 TC 40 LC 20 40 800 LC LF 20TC 5TF 1200 TF 80 LF 5 80 400 b Figure for Q2b The Allocation of Resources with Increased Labor Supply TC 40 OC OF TF 80 LF 400 LC 800 C F 1 TC O4C OF TF L1F LC C F D O3CO2CO1C A B T1 T2 T3 T4 3 An increased labor supply makes the box representing the economy s resources longer If goods prices remain unchanged factor prices and land labor ratios remain the same resource allocation moves from point A to point B when L increases to 1 600 hours with more land and more labor denoted to cloth production The output of food falls while the output of cloth rises more than proportionately to the increase in labor supply As labor supply increases the point for the allocation of resources will move from A to B to C and then to D When L 1 600 TC 66 67 LC 1333 33 TF 53 33 LF 266 67 When L 2 000 TC 93 33 LC 1866 67 TF 26 67 LF 133 33 When L 2 400 TC 120 LC 2400 TF 0 LF 0 In this case the economy has complete specialization c If the labor supply continues to increase excess supply will exist At that time factor price will adjust otherwise unemployment will show up Q3 The world s poorest countries cannot find anything to export There is no resource that is abundant certainty not capital or land and in small poor nations not even labor is abundant Discuss 世界上的一些最贫穷的国家找不到什么产品来出口 在这些国家里 没有 一种资源是充裕的 不用谈资本 也不用说土地 在一些又小又穷的国家 甚 至连劳动也不充裕 讨论分析这段话 A3 Abundance is a relative term rather than an absolute term One country is abundant in one factor which means that the country is abundant in one factor relative to the other factor According to Heckscher Ohlin Theorem an economy will tend to export goods that are intensive in the factors with which they are abundantly supplied Compared with developed countries in developing countries labor is more abundant than capital Q4 In many developed countries labor movements represent blue collar workers rather than professionals and highly educated workers and traditionally favor limits on imports from less affluent countries Is this a shortsighted policy or a rational one in view of the interests of union members How does the answer depend on the model of trade 在许多发达国家 劳工运动代表了蓝领工人 而不是专业人士和受过高等教 育的工人 并且传统上支持政府限制从发展中国家进口产品 从工会成员利益 的角度来看 这个政策是否合理 如何用相关贸易的理论来回答本题 A4 Based on different models this question will have different answers 4 1 In One Factor Ricardian Model trade could increase workers purchasing power and then gain from trade Therefore it is not reasonable for union members to limits on imports from less affluent countries 2 In Specific Factor Model workers may gain from trade and may lose from trade Because trade makes the purchasing power increase in terms of one goods but decrease in terms of another Therefore the net gain will depends on the magnitudes of increased gain and decreased lose 3 In Heckscher Ohlin Model if one factor which is intensively used to produce goods for export increases the owner of that factor will more likely to gain from trade otherwise if one factor which is intensively used to produce goods for import in competitive industries the owner of the factor will likely to lose from trade In developed countries in most cases labor is scarce resource so the workers in developed countries will lose from importing labor intensive goods from developing countries Therefore it is reasonable for union members to support government s limits on imports from less affluent countries Q5 Recently computer programmers in developing countries such as India have begun doing work formerly done in the United States This shift has undoubtedly led to substantial pay cuts for some programmers in the United States Answer the following two questions How is this possible when the wages of skilled labor are rising in the United States as a whole What argument would trade economists make against seeing these wage cuts as a reason to block outsourcing of computer programming 最近 一些发展中国家 比如印度 的计算机程序人员已经开始做原来只 在美国完成的工作 这种转移无疑导致美国程序员收入实质下降 请回答以下 两个问题 在美国技术工人的工资普遍上涨的情况下 为何会出现这一情况 把削减工资作为防止计算机编程外包的理由 对此 贸易经济学家会提出什么 论据并加以反驳 A5 程序员由于来自印度的竞争 面临着工资的下降 但这与技术劳动力工资 上涨不一致 通过使得编程更有效率 这项变化也许会提高软件业工人的工资 或降低所有商品的价格 然而 在短期内 这明显会损害那些在面临转移成本 的需要特定技能的部门中就业的工人的利益 有许多原因不阻止计算机编程服 务的进口 或这些工作的外包 首先 通过使得编程更便宜 它使得美国的 生产可能性边界扩张 使得整个国家平均来说变得更好 这会导致必要的收入 分配 但是不应该阻止将使得国家总体上变得更好的贸易 此外 没有贸易政 策行动存在于真空中 如果美国禁止编程服务进口 它也会导致别的国家也实 行更加限制贸易的政策 5 Q6 Explain why the Leontief paradox and the more recent Bowen Leamer and Sveikauskas results reported in the text contradict the factor proportions theory 分析说明为什么里昂惕夫悖论以及最近的鲍恩 利默和斯维考斯卡斯的研 究结果会与要素比例理论相矛盾 A6 要素比例理论认为 一个国家当出口密集使用其相对丰裕要素所生产的商 品 进口密集使用其相对稀缺要素所生产的商品 美国和世界上其他国家相比 有着较高的资本 劳动比率 是资本密集型国家 所以 根据要素比例理论 人 们理所当然的认为美国应该出口其资本密集型产品 但是 里昂惕夫通过实证 检验证明 美国出口劳动密集型产品 最近的鲍恩 利默和斯维考斯卡斯的研 究结果也表明 资源禀赋和贸易模式之间的关系不再像理论上描述的那么清晰 对这种观点较为典型的解释有 1 自然资源 在要素比例理论中 只考虑了劳动和资本两种生产要素 忽 略了土地 矿藏等自然资源 自然资源与资本之间有一定的替代性 如