The effect of technology choice on specialization and welfare in a two‐country model
构建了一个两国模型，分析制造业企业选择高或低技术时，贸易成本和生产率如何影响技术选择，并发现中等高技术生产率且贸易成本不低时会出现技术差距，高技术国生产率提升会降低低技术国消费者福利，需降低贸易成本来补偿。
Abstract This study presents a simple two‐country model in which firms in the manufacturing sector can choose a technology level (high or low). We show how trade costs and productivity levels affect technology choices by the firms in each country, where the fixed cost of adopting high technology differs between the two countries. This depends on the productivity level of the high technology. In particular, if the productivity of high technology is medium and trade costs are not too low, then a technology gap between countries arises. In this case, improving the productivity of the high technology country reduces the welfare level of consumers in the country in which low technology is adopted. To compensate for the welfare loss of the country from the technological improvement, trade costs should be reduced.