Non-Scale Growth, Endogenous Comparative Advantages, and Industrialization

This paper develops a two-sector non-scale growth model and investigates the relationship between international trade, growth, and industrialization. It is shown that the counterfactual prediction of new growth theories regarding a positive effect of population growth on the growth rate of per capita income is alleviated in consideration of international trade. While the growth-trade linkage is positive in most cases, it is negative if the rate of population growth is relatively large and the initial capital stock is relatively small. As the timing of the switch from autarky to free trade affects the process of industrialization, trade policy can influence long-run growth rates even in non-scale growth models.