International production, technology diffusion, and trade

The paper develops a general equilibrium model of international production and trade. Technology is carried across borders by multinational producers and the set of technologies being used in a particular country is endogenous. Production locations are chosen based on the costs of production and getting the product to market. The model incorporates vertical, horizontal, offshoring, and export-platform FDI. Estimated model parameters describe the states of technology in different countries, barriers to international investment, and trade costs. The model is used to quantify the welfare effects of international production and trade and to investigate the effects of free-trade agreements on offshoring.international trade, international production, technology diffusion, foreign direct investment, barriers to trade, barriers to investment, heterogeneous producers

Central Africa Energy: Utilizing NASA Earth Observations to Explore Flared Gas as an Energy Source Alternative to Biomass in Central Africa

Much of Central Africa's economy is centered on oil production. Oil deposits lie below vast amounts of compressed natural gas. The latter is often flared off during oil extraction due to a lack of the infrastructure needed to utilize it for productive energy generation. Though gas flaring is discouraged by many due to its contributions to greenhouse emissions, it represents a waste process and is rarely tracked or recorded in this region. In contrast to this energy waste, roughly 80% of Africa's population lacks access to electricity and in turn uses biomass such as wood for heat and light. In addition to the dangers incurred from collecting and using biomass, the practice commonly leads to ecological change through the acquisition of wood from forests surrounding urban areas. The objective of this project was to gain insight on domestic energy usage in Central Africa, specifically Angola, Gabon, and the Republic of Congo. This was done through an analysis of deforestation, an estimation of gas flared, and a suitability study for the infrastructure needed to realize the natural gas resources. The energy from potential natural gas production was compared to the energy equivalent of the biomass being harvested. A site suitability study for natural gas pipeline routes from flare sites to populous locations was conducted to assess the feasibility of utilizing natural gas for domestic energy needs. Analyses and results were shared with project partners, as well as this project's open source approach to assessing the energy sector. Ultimately, Africa's growth demands energy for its people, and natural gas is already being produced by the flourishing petroleum industry in numerous African countries. By utilizing this gas, Africa could reduce flaring, recuperate the financial and environmental loss that flaring accounts for, and unlock a plentiful domestic energy source for its people. II. Introduction Background Africa is home to numerous burgeoning economies; a significant number rely on oil production as their primary source of revenue. Relative to its size and population density, the continent has a wealth of natural resources, including oil and natural gas deposits. The exploration of these resources is not a new endeavor, but rather one that spans decades, up to a century in some places. Their resources, if realized, could provide a great means of economic and social mobility for the people of Africa. Currently, Africa represents about 12 % of the energy market, yet at the same time, consumes only 3 % of the world's energy (Kasekende 2009). The highe

International production, technology diffusion, and trade

The paper develops a general equilibrium model of international production and trade. Technology is carried across borders by multinational producers and the set of technologies being used in a particular country is endogenous. Production locations are chosen based on the costs of production and getting the product to market. The model incorporates vertical, horizontal, offshoring, and export-platform FDI. Estimated model parameters describe the states of technology in different countries, barriers to international investment, and trade costs. The model is used to quantify the welfare effects of international production and trade and to investigate the effects of free-trade agreements on offshoring

International production, technology diffusion, and trade

The paper develops a general equilibrium model of international production and trade. Technology is carried across borders by multinational producers and the set of technologies being used in a particular country is endogenous. Production locations are chosen based on the costs of production and getting the product to market. The model incorporates vertical, horizontal, offshoring, and export-platform FDI. Estimated model parameters describe the states of technology in different countries, barriers to international investment, and trade costs. The model is used to quantify the welfare effects of international production and trade and to investigate the effects of free-trade agreements on offshoring

Trade Theory with Numbers: Quantifying the Consequences of Globalization

We review a recent body of theoretical work that aims to put numbers on the consequences of globalization. A unifying theme of our survey is methodological. We rely on gravity models and demonstrate how they can be used for counterfactual analysis. We highlight how various economic considerations—market structure, firm-level heterogeneity, multiple sectors, intermediate goods, and multiple factors of production—affect the magnitude of the gains from trade liberalization. We conclude by discussing a number of outstanding issues in the literature as well as alternative approaches for quantifying the consequences of globalization

Technology, factor endowments, and specialization in OECD countries: the role of variable capital utilization

This paper studies how specialization, measured by industry shares in GDP, is affected by technology and factor endowments. The empirical methodology takes into account variable factor utilization with capital utilization calculated from the consumption of electricity. Estimation results show that ignoring variable capital utilization overstates the effects of technology on specialization. The model is used to explain the differential changes in specialization that occurred in Korea and Turkey between 1975 and 1995. The results show that capital rather than technology accumulation was the most important determinant of this differential.specialization, technological comparative advantage, factor endowments, capital utilization, energy efficiency