产品空间与比较优势演化述评

Review of Product Space and the Evolution of Comparative Advantage

发展经济学家认为经济发展的核心问题是结构转型,而结构转型所需能力的积累源于比较优势的自然演化,并且国家的经济增长绩效最终会出现收敛。然而,纵观世界经济发展史,国富国穷现象一直存在,现有的经济增长理论并不能给出统一的理论解释,尤其是在解释"中国出口增长之谜"以及"中等收入陷阱"等增长谜题时,理论严重滞后于现实。为此,Hausmann等新近提出产品空间与比较优势演化理论,试图构建解释国家间增长绩效差异的统一理论框架,即产品空间决定了比较优势的演化,进而决定了国家的经济增长绩效。该理论与比较优势理论一脉相承,但因其进一步考虑到产品空间的异质性及产品集的不连续性等情况,对现实的解释力和政策的指导意义更强。

According to the theories of development economics, structure transformation is the core of economic development and the capabilities accumulation that needed for transformation come from the evolution of comparative advantage. What＇ s more,the economic growth among countries eventually converges. However, looking back the history of world economy, Rich and Poor coexist all the time. The existing theories cannot explain these phenomena and other anomalies, such as Chinese export puzzle and middle - income trap. Professor Hausmann et al. recently proposed the theory of comparative advantage evolution which tried to construct a unified framework to explain the performance differences among countries. The product space determines comparative advantage evolution and consequently determines the performance of countries economic development. Consisting with comparative advantage theory, this theory takes heterogeneity of product space and product set discontinuous into consideration, hugely promotes the power in real world explanation and policy guiding.