Heckscher's theory olin international economics. The theory of the ratio of factors of production of heckscher-olin. Characteristics of protectionism and free trade

The Heckscher-Ohlin theory complements D. Ricardo's theory of comparative advantages.

The Heckscher-Ohlin theory states that a country exports goods that use a relatively surplus factor of production to make, and imports goods that require relatively scarce resources to create. The Heckscher-Ohlin theory complements the theory of comparative advantages of D. Ricardo and explains what their source is (in the redundancy of some resources and the deficit of others).

Let us assume that country X has large land resources with a low population density. As a result, the land for maintenance Agriculture will be a less scarce resource than in the rest of the world, and there will be a shortage of labor resources. Under such conditions, according to the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, the country will export "land-intensive" goods and import labor-intensive goods (in Russia, natural resources are a relative surplus factor of production, and labor is relatively scarce, which leads us to the export of raw materials and the import of labor-intensive goods).

In general, this theory is supported by facts, but requires certain clarifications (which revealed the Leontief paradox). In particular, taking into account the foreign trade policy of the state and the heterogeneity of factors of production (for example, labor can be qualified and unskilled).

Paul Samuelson supplemented this theory with the factor price equalization theorem. According to it, the relative prices of goods participating in international trade gradually align. The fact is that participation in international trade causes an increase in the use of surplus factors of production. As a result, its price increases (for example, an increase in the export of labor-intensive products from China has led to an increase in wages in this country). The demand for the scarce factor of production decreases due to imports and the price falls.

The Leontief paradox

Vasily Leontiev analyzed US foreign trade in 1947 and 1951 The post-war US economy had a surplus of capital and a relative deficit of labor. In accordance with the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, the share of capital-intensive products in US exports should have increased, and the share of labor-intensive products should have decreased. However, the results obtained by Leontiev showed that the share of labor-intensive goods in exports did not decrease, while the share of capital-intensive goods in imports did not increase. Many discussions began around the paradox, during which some of its causes were identified:

1.The US escort was labor intensive due to the advantage in a highly skilled workforce with high wages, which, relative to the rest of the world, was a surplus resource.

2. The United States imported a lot of raw materials, the extraction of which required a lot of capital. This was the reason for the high capital intensity of imports.

3. The United States used a tariff policy that discouraged the import of labor-intensive goods.

According to A. Smith and D. Ricardo main factor affecting the production of goods - labor; its price depends on labor costs (according to the labor theory of value).

Later, researchers considered “land” and capital to be the determining factors of production. If the market price of labor was determined by the size wages, then the price of capital - by the interest rate, and the price of land - by the amount of ground rent.

In the 30s. XX century Swedish scientists E. Heckscher and B. Olin developed the doctrine of D. Ricardo.

The main provisions of their theory were as follows:

1) in countries there is a tendency to export goods for the manufacture of which are used in excess of factors of production, and, conversely, to import goods for the production of which relatively rare factors are needed. Theory of factors of production- a theory explaining the production of goods from the perspective of using the primary elements-factors of production: labor, "land", capital;

2) in international trade, under appropriate conditions, there is a tendency to equalize "factor prices". Under at the cost of a factor means the reward that the owner of the factor receives for using it. So, for labor it is wages, for capital - interest rate, for land - rent;

3) the export of goods can be replaced by the transfer of factors of production.

Heckscher-Ohlin factor theory- the theory according to which a country exports goods in the production of which surplus factors of production are most efficiently used and imports goods with a scarce factor of production.

The Heckscher-Ohlin concept includes a number of provisions concerning the characteristics of the functioning of factors.

First position allows a gradual decrease in the value of the marginal product of each of the factors additionally included in production. This means that with an increase, for example, in the number of workers engaged in the production of goods by 10%, the volume of output of the product will increase by a smaller amount. A further increase in the number of workers will lead to a smaller increase in the volume of goods produced.

There is no consensus among economists about the direction in which the marginal product of the additionally involved factors changes. D. Ricardo proceeded from a constant value of the marginal product; many of his followers argued that in a number of cases, especially when organizing mass production, marginal product increases.

Second position characterizes the consumption of goods, the position of producers and changes in costs. In exporting countries, the consumption structure, tastes, and habits of the population are assumed to be the same. All manufacturers are on an equal footing and have similar production capabilities. Tariffs, transportation costs, and other production costs are virtually unchanged.

Third provision states the possibility of the country to expand the production of goods, using the factors available in excess. In the manufacturing country, such factors will be consumed in ever-increasing volumes, and their price will rise. In the importing country, where the need for a given factor is replaced by the consumption of the corresponding product, the factor's price will decrease.

For example, the production of wool and grain in Australia and New Zealand and their subsequent sale to the UK will mean an increase in the use of cheap Australian and New Zealand land for crops and pastures. The result should be higher land prices in Australia and New Zealand and lower land rents in the UK due to imports.

As for the “mobile factors” - labor and capital, then according to the Heckscher-Ohlin concept, which recognizes the possibility of their movement beyond national borders, the probability of replacing the movement of goods with the movement of factors of production is predicted. So, instead of expanding the export of goods to Poland, Germany can transfer its capital there and build a factory, starting on-site production of this product in Poland.

Foreign trade in accordance with the Heckscher-Ohlin concept is carried out as follows.

Suppose the simultaneous existence of two countries: "Industrial" and "Agrarian" (the names are conditional).

Industrialnaya has a surplus of capital and a relatively small amount of land, so it produces industrial products; in “Agrarnaya”, on the contrary, there is a relative surplus of land with a lack of capital, which directs it towards agriculture.

Industrialnaya will be able to use the available limited land area for production industrial goods, exchanged for grain and meat imported from “Agraria”. Its overall result will be more efficient use capital and land.

There are similar and classic examples.

The neoclassical concept of Heckscher-Ohlin turned out to be convenient for explaining the reasons for the development of trade between the raw-material metropolises and industrialized colonies.

The Heckscher-Ohlin concept has been used to explain the export advantages of countries certain types products in modern conditions. For example, the benefits South Korea in the export of labor-intensive goods such as clothing or electronic components, were explained by the presence of a significant surplus of cheap labor, the advantages of Sweden in the export of steel products - a low phosphorus content in iron ore (as a result, high-quality steel at minimal production costs), the advantages of Canada and Norway in the export of aluminum were caused by the geographical conditions allowing generate cheap electricity.

Increasing the importance of foreign trade in the economy of industrially developed states in the late 40s - early 50s. XX century demanded the solution of a number of economic and political issues.

The emergence of the "Common Market" made it necessary to clarify the impact of the emerging European customs "wall" on the movement of American capital.

It was equally important to determine the impact of trade liberalization between Western European countries on the development of homogeneous industries, and, accordingly, on employment in these countries. Questions arose such as the impact of the elimination of foreign trade barriers on wages, the development of intra-European trade, etc.

The neoclassical concept of Heckscher-Ohlin answered the questions posed (economic and political) as follows.

Trade should be the greatest and especially efficient between countries with the most differing economic structure (due to different endowments with factors of production). Homogeneous industries should be concentrated in one country.

The development of trade is effective if it stimulates individual states to abandon the production of homogeneous goods, i.e. enhances cross-industry specialization of production.

Countries need to export goods that make the most of relatively redundant factors. At the same time, free trade should equalize the prices of such factors. As a result of foreign trade, it is necessary to equalize wages, interest rates, rent payments, etc. International investment should be stimulated by differences in the endowments of factors. Finally, there is a need for the interchangeability of international trade and international investment.

The discrepancy between these provisions and the real world foreign economic development attracted the attention of researchers already in the first post-war years. In the mid 50s. XX century In connection with the programs for creating a "Common Market" in Europe, checking the actual correspondence of the trends in the development of foreign trade to the theoretical provisions of the neoclassicists has become especially urgent.

In the development of the factorial approach, Zh.B. Say and the theory of comparative advantage by E. Heckscher and B.G. Olin justified the need to determine comparative advantages in foreign trade based on the assessment of factors of production, their ratio and relationship. As a result, scientists formulated their own theory, called the theory of the ratio of factors.

This theory is based on the following postulates:

1. Countries participating in international exchange are developing a tendency to export those goods and services for the manufacture of which are mainly used factors of production that are available in excess, and, conversely, to import those products for which there is a deficit of any factors.

It proclaims the country's ability to increase the production of goods that attract more factors that are available in excess. For this reason, the consumption of such factors in the exporting country will increase, the price for them will accordingly also increase due to a gradual decrease in the marginal utility of each of the factors additionally included in production. For example, a 10% increase in wheat planted will result in a smaller increase in wheat production.

On the other hand, prices for a similar factor in importing countries will decrease due to the replacement of the need to use this factor within the country by the import into its territory of goods, the production of which is associated with the use of this factor.

The theory assumes that if two countries have all types of factors of production in the same way, differences in the price system can make the exchange of goods between countries possible and beneficial for the parties.

2. The development of international trade leads to the equalization of "factor" prices, ie. income received by the owner of this factor.

Such a situation is possible only in the conditions of free trade, as a result of which the prerequisites are created for the equalization of wages, interest rates, rent, etc.

3. With sufficient international mobility of factors of production, there is a possibility of replacing the export of goods by moving the factors themselves between countries.

It is clear that the mobility of factors can only be ensured by free trade, which stimulates individual countries to abandon the production of homogeneous goods and enhances the intersectoral specialization of production in the production and export of finished goods.

The conclusions of the theory of the ratio of factors of production are correct under the following assumptions:

the consumption structure in the partner countries is the same, i.e. there are coincidences of inclinations and preferences of their population;
producers are on roughly equal terms with the same production capabilities;
the invariability of export-import tariffs, transport costs and other costs is stipulated.

Development of the views of Heckscher and Ohlin

Later, a number of economists (P. Samuelson, A. Lerner, and others) developed this doctrine, making the assumption that free trade is a complete and not just a private substitute for the free flow of capital, i.e. free trade is able to lead to complete absolute and relative equalization in the factors of production.

In 1948, P. Samuelson proved the theorem of price equalization for factors of production, which was called theorems(gr. theorema; theoreo - considering, pondering) Heckscher - Olin - Samuelson. According to this theory, international trade leads to the equalization of absolute and relative prices for homogeneous factors of production in trading countries. Moreover, under homogeneous(gr. homogenes - homogeneous in composition) means factors of production of the same quality. The homogeneity of labor implies the existence of labor with the same level of education, qualifications and productivity, and the homogeneity of capital implies its equal productivity and risk.

The Heckscher - Ohlin - Samuelson theorem is based on the provision on the mobility of factors of production within the country. A free trade situation is also assumed, i.e. free movement of goods between countries and free competition in international trade. As a result, countries with excessive labor force, produce and export labor-intensive products and import capital-intensive ones. Countries with a surplus of free capital, but experiencing a shortage of labor, produce and export, in accordance with the theory, capital-intensive products, and import, accordingly, labor-intensive ones.

However, as practice has shown, the equalization of relative and absolute prices for factors of production has not happened, for example, there are still significant differences in the level of wages in different countries.

In addition to the Heckscher - Ohlin - Samuelson theorem, there is some interest in Stolper - Samuelson theorem, within which V.F. Stolper and P. Samuelson proved that, under certain prerequisites, foreign trade divides society into those who ultimately remain in net gains and those who bear losses. The Stolper - Samuelson theorem is formulated as follows: the establishment of trade relations and free trade inevitably lead to an increase in the remuneration of a factor that is intensively used in the production of a commodity, the price of which is rising, and to a decrease in the remuneration of a factor that is intensively used in the production of a commodity, the price of which is falling, outside depending on what is the structure of consumption of these goods by owners of factors of production.

If a country is rapidly building up its capital stock through constant large-scale investment, it is more rapidly approaching a relative capital surplus than its trading partners.

With an increase in the stock of capital and a constant amount of labor, the value of capital falls, and the prices of goods saturated with capital also fall. As a result, in conditions of growth of one of the factors of production, the output of goods with a high content of this particular factor increases. There is a shift in the country's comparative advantages towards a given product, while the production of another product is completely reduced.

Rybczynski's theorem

Certain adjustments to the Heckscher-Olin theory were introduced by T.M. Rybchinsky, who proved the theorem of the ratio of the growth of the supply of factors and the increase in production. He argued that an increase in the supply of one of the factors of production in a situation of constancy of other variables leads not only to an increase in the output of goods, but also to a decrease in the output of other goods. The rapid expansion of the relevant production sector in connection with an increase in supply and more intensive use of one or another factor of production leads to an increase in profitability in this sector and an outflow of resources from other industries.

A classic example confirming this theorem is Holland, where in the 70s. XX century. development of natural gas fields in the North Sea began. This led to an increase in investment in these fields, production volumes began to increase, and the role of natural gas in the country's economy increased. With the growth of natural gas production, industrial exports of the Netherlands declined. The rise in prices for all types of fuel (including natural gas) in the world market strengthened this trend. The new sector caused an outflow of resources from other industries due to higher wages and more high profits, as a result of which the output of the manufacturing industry decreased. This situation was named "Dutch disease".

A similar problem occurred in Great Britain, Norway and other countries where intensive new fields were developed.

However, Rybczynski's theorem cannot be considered universal. For example, in some newly industrialized countries during economic transformation as a result of outflow labor resources in new industries, there was no drop in agricultural production. Moreover, the agrarian sector of the economy of these NIS continued to develop actively.

The Leontief paradox

The Heckscher-Ohlin theory is shared by most modern economists. However, it does not always give a direct answer to the question of why a particular set of goods prevails in the country's exports and imports. V. Leontiev, exploring foreign trade USA in the post-war years, pointed out that this country with relatively cheap capital and expensive labor does not participate in international trade in accordance with the Heckscher-Ohlin theory.

Using the author's input-output method in 1953, Leontyev calculated the volume of labor and capital used in the United States to produce a representative group of export goods in the amount of $ 1 million, and the same volume of import-substituting goods for 1947. As a result, it turned out that US import-substituting manufacturing is 30% more capital intensive than exports, i.e. there was a large capital intensity of imports and a large labor intensity of US exports, although, according to the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, everything should have been exactly the opposite. This contradiction is called paradox(gr. paradoxos - unexpected, strange) Leontyev.

In general, the Leontief paradox can be explained as follows. The United States has traditionally paid great attention and is still paying attention to the formation of highly qualified workers, investing significant capital resources in their training and professional development. As a result, in the United States there is a better ratio of human capital to capital materialized in the means of labor than in other countries. The presence of a relatively large resource of labor of scientists, technicians and highly skilled workers in comparison with material capital and gives a greater labor intensity of American exports.

At the same time, it cannot be denied that capital is a surplus factor in the United States. However, with the migration of capital from the United States, capital accumulation in other countries with traditionally low wages, the advantage in the capital / labor ratio goes to these countries, and they begin to conquer the markets for goods, the production technology of which loses its uniqueness and becomes mass. This explains the high capital intensity of US imports.

The Heckscher-Ohlin theory, according to the results of studies conducted by the Americans G. Bowen, E. Limer and L. Sveikauskas on 27 countries, 12 factors of production and many goods, is confirmed in a little more than half of the cases. This suggests that the theory itself, on the whole, works satisfactorily, although it does not explain the nature of international trade in the best way.

Russia can rather be attributed to a case typical of the Heckscher-Olin theory: a large share in the export of raw materials, metallurgy and chemical products, military equipment due to the abundance natural resources, the presence of significant processing facilities for raw materials (metallurgy, chemical industry) and some advanced technologies (mainly in the production of weapons and dual-use goods).

At the same time, despite the abundance of agricultural resources and the availability of the necessary labor potential for the development of civil engineering Russia continues to import (and in significant volumes) foodstuffs, cars and equipment.

Such examples are a warning against straightforward use of the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, which works in many, but not in all cases.

The theory of international trade, which is based on the proposal that differences in relative prices are explained by the different endowments of the countries of production, as well as the theory of absolute and comparative advantage, is based on numerous assumptions.

	The theory of absolute fierce advantages	The theory is advantageous	The theory is wearing factors production
Factor Assumptions
The only factor of production (labor)	NS	NS
Two factors of production (labor and capital)			NS
Production factor (s) used in full	NS	NS	NS
Differences in country endowments with factors of production			NS
Limited volume of factors of production in each country	NS	NS	NS
Full mobility of factors of production within the country	NS	NS	NS
Full mobility of factors of production between countries	NS	NS	NS
Market Assumptions
Two countries	NS	NS	NS
Two products	NS	NS	NS
Perfect competition	NS	NS	NS
Freedom of trade	NS	NS	NS
Trade is balanced	NS	NS	NS
No transportation costs	NS	NS	NS
Assumptions about the nature of production
Full country specialization on one product	NS	NS
Same technology in both countries			NS
Assumptions about the nature of the goods
One product is labor intensive, the other is capital intensive			NS
Labor theory cost	NS	NS
Full price elasticity of demand	NS	NS	NS
Assumptions about other trading theories
Consumer tastes and preferences are the same	NS	NS	NS
No economies of scale	NS	NS	NS

As can be seen from the table, the theory of the ratio of factors of production is based on numerous assumptions about factors of production, the nature of the market, production and goods, most of which are the same as in the theories of absolute and comparative advantage. The differences lie in the fact that the theory of the ratio of factors of production proceeds from the fact that, as before, there are only two countries (country I and country II) and only two goods (good 1 and good 2). One of which is labor-intensive, and the other is capital-intensive, and there are already two, not one factor of production (labor - L and capital - K). Moreover, each of the countries is endowed with factors of production to varying degrees. The labor theory of value is not rejected, but is supplemented by the idea that, in addition to labor, other factors of production also take part in the consciousness of value. At the same time, there can be no full specialization of countries in the production of any product, and the technology in the two countries is the same. That. The most important assumptions of the theory of the ratio of factors of production are the factor intensity of individual goods (one product is labor-intensive, the other is capital-intensive) and the different factor saturation of individual countries (in one country there is relatively more capital, in another - relatively less).

Factor-intensity is an indicator that determines the relative costs of factors of production to create a certain product.

Product 2 is relatively more capital-intensive than product 1 if the ratio of labor and capital costs for the production of product 2 is greater than the ratio of the same costs for production of product 1:

Factor saturation is an indicator that determines the relative provision of a country with production factors.

Factor saturation can be determined in two ways: through the relative prices of each of the factors of production and through the absolute size of the factors of production.

The abundance or excess of some factors (labor and capital) in the country makes them cheap in comparison with other, scarce factors in this country. The production of any product requires a combination of factors and a commodity. In production, which is dominated by relatively cheap, surplus factors will be relatively cheap both domestically and on the external market, and thus will have a comparative advantage. According to the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, a country exports those goods whose output is based on factors of production that are surplus to it, and imports goods for the release of which it is already endowed with factors of production.

The theory of E. Heckscher - B. Olin is based on the following basic principles. Countries participating in foreign trade exchange, to varying degrees, have the factors of production - labor and capital. The goods produced in these countries differ in the structure and size of the factors of production embodied in them (labor-intensive and capital-intensive industries and the goods produced in them). The possession of certain factors of production in a given country predetermines their relative cheapness in comparison with those factors of production that the given country has insufficiently.

If a country has a surplus of capital, but at the same time it suffers from a shortage of labor, then capital in it is relatively cheap, and labor will be expensive. At the same time, capital-intensive goods (requiring significant capital expenditures and relatively insignificant labor costs for their production) in a given country will be produced at lower costs in comparison with those countries that experience a lack of capital. These differences in the supply of production factors, according to E. Heckscher and B. Olin, predetermine the international specialization of countries. In other words, countries have a comparative advantage in those goods in the production of which the factor that is available in these countries in abundance prevails. It is these goods that make up the bulk of the export of these countries. On the contrary, the structure of imports of these countries will be dominated by goods in the production of which the factor that is available in abundance was mainly used.

The theory of E. Heckscher and B. Olin actually develops the principle of comparative advantages (costs) of D. Ricardo, since in accordance with the provisions of this theory, countries should develop the production of those goods for which the combination of factors of production available in these countries allows them to have comparative advantages over with other states. Later, the provisions of E. Heckscher and B. Olin were supplemented and developed by the American economist P. Samuelson. E. Heckscher and B. Olin believed that in conditions of free trade, the unimpeded movement of goods leads both to a tendency to equalize prices for goods sold in world trade, and to equalize prices for factors of production. Taking into account the additions made by P. Samuelson, the Heckscher - Ohlin - Samuelson theorem was formulated. Its essence lies in the fact that with the development of international trade, the absolute and relative prices for homogeneous factors of production in the countries participating in international trade are leveled. Homogeneous factors mean factors of production of the same quality. At the same time, the homogeneity of capital presupposes its equal productivity and risk, and the homogeneity of labor presupposes the existence of labor with the same level of education, qualifications and productivity. In a free trade situation, the demand for cheaper goods grows both domestically and in the external market. Therefore, the prices of these goods begin to grow, and with them the profitability of their production increases, which, in turn, leads to the movement of factors of production to export industries from anti-import (import substitution) industries (since the prices for the products of these industries with an increase in the inflow similar goods from abroad are starting to decline). As a result of this process, according to the Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson theory, the ratio of factors of production in the export and anti-import industries is gradually leveling off. At the same time, according to the authors of this theory, the ratio of prices for factors of production both within the country itself and in international trade is leveled. Thus, the Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson theory is based on the provision on the mobility of factors of production within the country (their movement between export and anti-import industries). At the same time, a free trade situation is assumed, i.e. free movement of goods between countries and free competition in international trade. Based on this circumstance, the world economy is developing a situation in which countries with surplus labor force produce and export labor-intensive products, and countries with an excess of free capital, but lacking labor force, must specialize in the production and export of capital-intensive goods (importing, in turn, labor-intensive goods).

However, as the subsequent development of events in international trade and the international division of labor showed, there was no equalization of prices for factors of production. And to this day, huge differences persist in national wage levels. The Heckscher-Ohlin theory is based on unlimited freedom of movement of factors of production and goods within the national economy. In practice, under modern conditions, the movement of labor in industries with higher wages for a variety of reasons (territorial differences of various kinds, social reasons, etc.) does not occur as freely as it follows from this theory. In addition, at present, depending on the general level of scientific and technical and technological development reached in different countries, in them the same goods can be labor-intensive or capital-intensive. Finally, one of the theses of the Heckscher-Ohlin theory is the assumption that there is no international movement of factors of production. The realities of the modern world economy is a very dynamic international movement of capital. International labor migration has also become more significant (although it is not as dynamic as the international movement of capital). The noted circumstances in modern conditions call into question the conclusion of this theory that countries export those goods in the production of which the factors of production that are surplus in these countries are used.

Thus, according to the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, each country seeks to specialize in the production of goods that require more factors, with which it is relatively better endowed.

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