拉斯维加斯9888

标题：Are Trade Liberalizations a Source of Global Current Account Imbalances?

汇报人：Jiandong Ju, University of Oklahoma

功夫：2:00-3:30pm, October 28

地址：拉斯维加斯9888新楼216教室

Abstract:

A wave of trade liberalizations take place in both developing and developed countries, including China’s WTO accession and the end of import quotas on textile and garment in the United States and Europe. At the same time, both China’s current account surplus and the US deficit have risen to an unprecedented level. Are these developments related? We study how trade reforms affect current accounts by embedding a modified Heckscher-Ohlin structure and an endogenous discount factor into an intertemporal model of current account. We show that trade liberalizations in a developing country would generally lead to capital outflow. In contrast, trade liberalizations in a developed country would result in capital inflow. Thus, trade reforms can contribute to global imbalances.