• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.35-51
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• 2000

International trade flows have been determined by social, cultural and political environment around the world as well as economic elements. The environment of international trade has changed rapidly as the world has globalized. Significant changes have been generated in the international trade flows. This study investigates the influences of economic globalization on the international trade flows. The changes in international trade flows examined comprehensively by integrating trade with industrial locations, investment, and the various trade related environments. The focus laid on the integration of world economies, such as widening and intensifying international linkages in economic, political and social relation. Special concerns are laid on the impacts of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) by Trans National Corporations (TNCs), which affect the supply-demand distributions of commodities by industrial relocations, and the expansion of intra-firm trade flows on the international trade flow patterns. The geographical characteristics of tile origins and destinations of FDI flows analyzed, since the spatial patterns of the intra-firm trade flows are determined by them. The FDI and intra-firm trade flow patterns have changed significantly over time.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.29-54
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• 1992

Recent studies on the economic effects of trade liberalization and economic integration have emphasized the significant gains associated with product differentiation and scale economies. Securing access to markets in other countries will make it possible to increase product variety and capture scale economies, thus, expanding the gains from trade. Liberalization is also expected to introduce foreign competition into the previously closed market. Concurrently, the liberalization will improve the competitive market environment for firms selling in the domestic market. Firms will be pressed to either exit or reduce cost. The output per firm, then, will increase due to the exit of rival firms, and the average total cost will decline due to the economies of scale. 'Rationalization' of the production process will eventually follow. This paper addresses the economic effects of (counterfactual) bilateral tariff elimination between Korea and Japan. It computationally assesses the gains from liberalization as well as the resource allocations and welfare effects associated with the tariff reduction. The endogenous determination of the key parameters distinguishes this paper from others. The firm's perceived elasticity of demand and elasticity of substitution in the present model are calibrated to be consistent with the base year data. Korea, Japan, and the rest of the world are modeled explicitly. The sectoral coverage of the model includes twenty-three tradable product categories based on three-digit SITC industries and seven nontradable categories based on one-digit SITC industries. Product categories are also classified into perfectly competitive and imperfectly competitive ones. In the imperfectly competitive industries, product differentiation exists at the firm level, while the perfectly competitive industries are characterized by national product differentiation. The simulation results of bilateral tariff reduction are reported. Tariff elimination tends to increase intra-industry trade flows so that the total amount of exports and imports of both countries expand. Yet, Japan is expected to increase the bilateral trade surplus in the wake of the mutual tariff reduction. Terms-of-trade for Korea will not change, while for Japan it will deteriorate. Equivalent variations reflecting the change in consumer surplus (welfare) will favor Korean consumers. Total output, however, will not change substantially, recording 0.5 and 0.6% for Japan and Korea, respectively. An interesting finding in the analysis is that the gains from increased competition and scale efficiency are not as prevailing as expected in theory.