International Demonstration Effect and Domestic Division of Labour: A Simple Model

The implications of the international demonstration effect (IDE) for the development of underdeveloped economies have long been studied and debated. Yet few formal analyses exist in the literature, especially regarding its implications for the growth of domestic markets and the division of labour in developing economies. We offer an analysis of endogenous specialization under IDE, the first of its kind, showing that, far more complicated than the scenario held by conventional wisdom, IDE makes more difficult the emergence of the market underpinning the domestic division of labour, but facilitates the expansion of the market once the market has been developed.