A Geometry of Specialization
Posted: 10 Sep 1998
Date Written: March 1998
Abstract
Division of labor models have become a standard analytical tool, along with competitive general equilibrium models (Ricardian, HOS, Ricardo Viner), in public finance, trade, growth, development and macroeconomics. Yet unlike the earlier models, specialization models lack a canonical representation. This is because they are both new and complex, characterized by multiple equilibria, instability and emergent structural properties under parameter transformation. We develop a general framework for such models, illustrating results from current research on specialization models and explaining why one sub-class of these models is particularly difficult to illustrate easily.
JEL Classification: F12, O12, O41
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation