The Balassa-Samuelson and the capital-intensity hypotheses in a nutshell

Carlos Urzúa

Research in Economics, 2020, vol. 74, issue 4, 336-343

Abstract: By means of duality theory, this paper generalizes the Balassa-Samuelson model as is used to explain the Penn effect; namely, the fact that national price levels tend to rise with per capita national incomes. The generalization made in this paper allows for any technological progress that is Hicks-neutral, Solow-neutral, Harrod-neutral, or any mixture of them. The implications of the enlarged models include, among others, the Balassa-Samuelson scenario, as well as a capital-intensity scenario that resembles Bhagwati’s. Those hypotheses emerge simultaneously when technical changes are, both, Hicksian and Solovian. The paper also presents an alternative model that is used to explain the apparent breakdown of the Penn effect in the case of the lowest-income countries.

Keywords: Penn effect; Balassa-Samuelson hypothesis; Bhagwati hypothesis; Capital-intensity hypothesis; Neutral tecnological progress (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E23 E31 F11 F31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:reecon:v:74:y:2020:i:4:p:336-343

DOI: 10.1016/j.rie.2020.10.003

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