This is an archived course. A more recent version may be available at ocw.mit.edu.

 

Readings

The reading list for each topic is separated into two groups: "essential" and "recommended." "Essential" readings will be covered extensively in class. "Recommended" readings combine classical references and examples of recent papers in a particular area, which may or may not be covered in class. There are no required textbooks. The following books are cited in the reading list by the abbreviations indicated, and though they are not required, many of these books are worth owning.

[BS] = Amazon logo Bagwell, Kyle, and Robert W. Staiger. The Economics of the World Trading System. MIT Press, 2004. ISBN: 9780262524346.

[DN] = Amazon logo Dixit, Avinash, and Victor Norman. Theory of International Trade: A Dual, General Equilibrium Approach. Cambridge University Press, 1980. ISBN: 9780521234818.

[F] = Amazon logo Feenstra, Robert. Advanced International Trade: Theory and Evidence. Princeton University Press, 2003. ISBN: 9780691114101.

[JK] = Amazon logo Jones, Ronald, and Peter Kenen, eds. Handbook of International Economics. Vol. 1. Elsevier, 1988. ISBN: 9780444867926.

[GR] = Amazon logo Grossman, Gene, and Kenneth Rogoff, eds. Handbook of International Economics. Vol. 3. Elsevier, 1995. ISBN: 9780444815477.

[GH] = Amazon logo Grossman, Gene, and Elhanan Helpman. Innovation and Growth in the Global Economy. MIT Press, 1993. ISBN: 9780262570978.

[HKa] = Amazon logo Helpman, Elhanan, and Paul Krugman. Market Structure and Foreign Trade: Increasing Returns, Imperfect Competition, and the International Economy. MIT Press, 1987. ISBN: 9780262580878.

[HKb] = Amazon logo ———. Trade Policy and Market Structure. MIT Press, 1989. ISBN: 9780262580984.

[K] = Amazon logo Krugman, Paul. Rethinking International Trade. MIT Press, 1994. ISBN: 9780262610957.

The readings listed in the table below represent only those designed as "essential." For a complete list of recommended and optional readings, please see the complete readings list here: (PDF)

LEC # READINGS
1 [DN], pp. 65-79, and 94-6.
2

Bernhofen, Daniel, and John Brown. "A Direct Test of the Theory of Comparative Advantage: The Case of Japan." Journal of Political Economy 112, no. 4 (2004): 48-67. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)

———. "An Empirical Assessment of the Comparative Advantage Gains from Trade: Evidence from Japan." American Economic Review 95, no. 1 (2005): 208-25.

Frankel, Jeffrey, and David Romer. "Does Trade Cause Growth?" American Economic Review 89, no. 3 (1999): 379-99. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)

3

Eaton, Jonathan, and Samuel Kortum. "Technology, Geography and Trade." Econometrica 70, no. 5 (2002): 1741-79.

Dornbusch, R., S. Fischer, and P. Samuelson. "Comparative Advantage, Trade, and Payments in a Ricardian Model with a Continuum of Goods." The American Economic Review 67, no. 5 (1977): 823-39.

4

Costinot, Arnaud, Dave Donaldson, and Ivana Komunjer. "What Goods Do Countries Trade? A Quantitative Exploration of Ricardo's Ideas." NBER Working Paper No. 16262, 2010.

Deardorff, Alan V. "Testing Trade Theories and Predicting Trade Flows." Chapter 10 in [JK].

Eaton, Jonathan, and Samuel Kortum. "Technology, Geography and Trade." Econometrica 70, no. 5 (2002): 1741-79.

Golub, Stephen S., and Chang-Tai Hsieh. "Classical Ricardian Theory of Comparative Advantage Revisited." Review of International Economics 8, no. 2 (2000): 221-34. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)

Nunn, Nathan. "Relationship-Specificity, Incomplete Contracts, and the Pattern of Trade." Quarterly Journal of Economics 122, no. 2 (2007): 569-600. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)

5 [DN], pp. 38-43, 86-7, and 102-6.
6 [F], pp. 31-41, 64-71, and 83-93.
7

Grossman, Gene, and James Levinsohn. "Import Competition and the Stock Market Return to Capital." American Economic Review 79, no. 5 (1989): 1065-87.

Amazon logo Baldwin, Robert E. The Development and Testing of Heckscher-Ohlin Trade Models: A Review. MIT Press, 2008.

[F], chapters 2-4.

Leamer, Edward. "Heckscher-Ohlin and the Craft of Economics." Paper presented at The NBER's Program on International Trade and Investment, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, December 4 – 5, 2009.

Leamer, Edward, and James Levinsohn. "International Trade Theory: The Evidence." In [GR]. (Sections 1-3 only).

8

Harrigan, James. "Technology, Factor Supplies, and International Specialization: Estimating the Neoclassical Model." American Economic Review 87, no. 4 (1997): 475-94.

Amazon logo ———. "Specialization and the Volume of Trade: Do the Data Obey the Laws?" Chapter 4 in Handbook of International Trade. Edited by E. Kwan Choi and James Harrigan. Wiley-Blackwell, 2004. ISBN: 9780631211617. (Read section 2 only)

Amazon logo Davis, Donald, and David Weinstein. "The Factor Content of Trade." Chapter 5 in Handbook of International Trade. Edited by E. Kwan Choi and James Harrigan. Wiley-Blackwell, 2004. ISBN: 9780631211617.

9 [HKa], chapters 6-9.
10

Davis, Donald, and David Weinstein. "Does Economic Geography Matter for International Specialization?" NBER Working Paper No. 5706, 1996.

Hanson, Gordon, and Chong Xiang. "The Home-Market Effect and Bilateral Trade Patterns." American Economic Review 94, no. 4 (2004): 1108-29. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)

11-12

Melitz, Marc. "The Impact of Trade on Intra-Industry Reallocations and Aggregate Industry Productivity." Econometrica 71, no. 6 (2008): 1695-725. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF - 3.1MB)

Chaney, Thomas. "Distorted Gravity: Heterogeneous Firms, Market Structure and the Geography of International Trade." Working Paper, 2006. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)

Bernard, Andrew, Stephen Redding, and Peter Schott. "Comparative Advantage and Heterogeneous Firms." Review of Economic Studies 74, no. 1 (2007): 31-66.

Melitz, Marc, and Gianmarco Ottaviano. "Market Size, Trade, and Productivity." Review of Economic Studies 75, no. 1 (2008): 295-316.

Bernard, Andrew, Stephen Redding, and Peter Schott. "Multi-Product Firms and Trade Liberalization." Working Paper, 2010. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)

13-14

Amazon logo Tybout, James. "Plant- and Firm-Level Evidence on "New" Trade Theories." Chapter 13 in Handbook of International Trade. Edited by E. Kwan Choi and James Harrigan. Wiley-Blackwell, 2004. ISBN: 9780631211617.

Bernard, Andrew, J. Bradford Jensen, Stephen Redding, and Peter Schott. "Firms in International Trade." Journal of Economic Perspectives 21, no. 3 (2007): 105-30. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)

Trefler, Daniel. "The Long and Short of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement." American Economic Review 94, no. 4 (2004): 870-95. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)

Helpman, Elhanan, Marc Melitz, and Yona Rubinstein. "Estimating Trade Flows: Trading Partners and Trading Volumes." Quarterly Journal of Economics 123, no. 2 (2008): 441-87.

Chaney, Thomas. "Distorted Gravity: The Intensive and Extensive Margins of International Trade." American Economic Review 98, no. 4 (2008): 1707-21. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)

Bernard, Andrew, Stephen Redding, and Peter Schott. "Multi-Product Firms and Trade Liberalization." Working Paper, 2010. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)

15 Arkolakis, Costas, Arnaud Costinot, and Andrés Rodríguez-Clare. "New Trade Models, Same Old Gains?" NBER Working Paper No. 15628, 2009.
16

Anderson, James E., and Eric van Wincoop. "Trade Costs." Journal of Economic Literature 42, no. 3 (2004): 691-751. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)

Hummels, David. "Transportation Costs and International Trade in the Second Era of Globalization." Journal of Economic Perspectives 21, no. 3 (2007): 131-54. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)

Donaldson, Dave. "Railroads of the Raj: Estimating the Impact of Transportation Infrastructure." NBER Working Paper No. 16487, 2010. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)

19

Costinot, Arnaud, and Jonathan Vogel. "Matching and Inequality in the World Economy." Journal of Political Economy 118, no. 4 (2010): 747-86. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)

Ohnsorge, Franziska, and Daniel Trefler. "Sorting It Out: International Trade With Heterogeneous Workers." Journal of Political Economy 115, no. 5 (2007): 868-92. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)

25

[HKb], chapter 2.

Grossman, Gene, and Elhanan Helpman. "Protection for Sale." American Economic Review 84, no. 4 (1994): 833-50. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF - 2.2MB)

[BS], chapter 2.