This paper examines how well the basic properties of the traditional 2 × 2 model of a competitive economy, commonly used in much of the pure theory of international trade, generalize when more goods and factors are considered. The notion of factor intensity and the Hekscher-Ohlin, Stolper-Samuelson, and Rybczynski theorems are discussed. The role played by the no-joint-production assumption as opposed to small dimensionality in the latter two results is stressed. The mathematical appendix provides a compact and formal statement of the properties discussed in the text.

International differences in the cost of production of a key intermediate product can mean that a domestic firm is dependent on supplies from a foreign vertically integrated firm. This paper considers the incentives for the foreign firm and foreign country to supply the domestic firm when the firms compete in a Cournot or Bertrand market for the final product. The vertical supply decision is significantly affected by domestic supply conditions for the input and a domestic tariff on final product imports. Optimal policy by the exporting country may require a tax on both exports, or a subsidy on both exports.

Much of what has been written about the process of economic development has concentrated on macroeconomic factors that affect the growth process, such as the community’s savings rate, its ability to attract foreign investment, and the composition and quality of its factor-endowment base. Less formally dealt with, but nonetheless often cited as important in the development process, is the nature of government regulations and the type of institutions that are reflective of the community’s own cultural inheritance…