How Trade Liberalization of Intermediates Contributes to China's Technology Upgrade

Under a heterogeneous firm analysis framework,this paper creates a theoretical model to investigate how trade liberalization of intermediates influences the technology choice of firms based on the data of Chinese manufacturers during 2000-2006.According to our empirical result,after China's WTO entry,trade liberalization of intermediates significantly induced Chinese exporters to apply advanced technologies.In our further consideration of the differentiated productivity of firms,we found that such an effect is related to the initial productivity of firms and only significantly induces mediumproductivity firms to upgrade their technologies.In addition,the technology-promotion effect of trade liberalization of intermediates is the most significant for technology-intensive exporters and the least significant for labor-intensive exporters.

The Choice of Technology and Rural-Urban Migration in Economic Development

This paper studies a general equilibrium model of rural-urban migration in which manufacturing finns engage in oligopolistic competition and choose increasing returns technologies to maximize profits. Urban residents incur commuting costs to work in the Central Business District. Surprisingly a change in the size of the population or an increase in the exogenously given wage rate will not affect a manufacturing finn＇s choice of technology. This helps to explain why finns in developing countries may not adopt labor intensive technologies even under abundant labor supply. An increase in the number of manufacturing finns increases both the employment rate and the level of employment in the manufacturing sector. However, manufacturing finns choose less advanced technologies. Capital accumulation leads manufacturing firms to choose more advanced technologies, but may not increase employment in the manufacturing sector.

A Dynamic Model of the Choice of Technology in Economic Development

In this overlapping-generations model, there is unemployment in the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing firms engage in oligopolistic competition and choose technologies to maximize profits. With capital as a fixed cost of production, increasing returns in the manufacturing sector exist. In the unique steady state, first, when individuals become more patient, the savings rate increases while the level of an individual＇s income decreases. Second, an increase in population or percentage of income spent on manufactured goods does not change steady-state technology while the level of an individual＇s income decreases. Third, an increase in the wage rate leads manufacturing firms to choose more advanced technologies and the steady-state capital stock increases. Finally, an increase in the level of subsidies to technology adoption does not change steady-state technology.

The Choice of Technology and Equilibrium Wage Rigidity

In this general equilibrium model, firms engage in oligopolistic competition and choose increasing returns technologies to maximize profits. Capital and labor are the two factors of production. The existence of efficiency wages leads to unemployment. The model is able to explain some interesting observations of the labor market. First, even though there is neither long-term labor contract nor costs of wage adjustment, wage rigidity is an equilibrium phenomenon： an increase in the exogenous job separation rate, the size of the population, the cost of exerting effort, and the probability that shirking is detected will not change the equilibrium wage rate. Second, the equilibrium wage rate increases with the level of capital stock. Third, a higher level of capital stock does not necessarily reduce the unemployment rate. That is, there is no monotonic relationship between capital accumulation and the unemployment rate.

Unemployment and Economic Integration for Developing Countries

While financial or trade integration between countries may mcrease the size of the market and aid the adoption of more advanced technologies, will it also increase the level of urban unemployment for a developing country？ In this model, there is unemployment in the urban sector. Manufacturing firms engage in oligopolistic competition and choose increasing returns technologies to maximize profits. Financial firms provide capital to manufacturing firms and they also engage in oligopolistic competition. We show that an increase in the wage rate in the manufacturing sector changes neither the level of technology nor the level of employment in the manufacturing sector. While financial or trade integration between developing countries leads manufacturing firms to adopt more advanced technologies, the level and rate of employment in the manufacturing sector will not deteriorate.

Intermediate Inputs and External Economies

Is the degree of external economies （at the industry level） higher than the degree of internal increasing returns （at the firm level）？ If so, what is the exact source of this difference？ In the general equilibrium model in which firms producing final goods choose the degree of specialization of their technologies, external economies arise from the usage of intermediate inputs and the existence of internal increasing returns. It is frequently assumed that increasing returns are absent at the firm level while present at the industry level. In this model, the existence of increasing returns at the form level is necessary for the existence of external economies at the industry level. We show that the degree of external economies increases with the level of linkage effects. However, a higher linkage effect does not always lead firms to choose more specialized technologies.

International Trade with Increasing Returns in the Transportation Sector

In this general equilibrium framework, the transportation sector is modeled as a distinct sector with increasing returns. A more advanced technology has a higher fixed cost but a lower marginal cost of production. Even with both manufacturing finns and transportation firms engaged in oligopolistic competition and optimally choosing their technologies, the model is tractable and results are derived analytically. Technology adoptions in the manufacturing sector and transportation sector are reinforcing, and multiple equilibria may exist. Firms choose more advanced technologies and the prices decrease when the size of the population is larger.