How Robust Are Sign and Rank Order Tests of the Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek Theorem?
Author InfoKohler, Wilhelm Abstract This paper draws attention to a widely neglected problem of arbitrariness with empirical tests of rank order and sign propositions derived from the Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek (HOV) model of the factor content of international trade. The paper concentrates on four different rank order and two different sign propositions of the HOV model, which have all been the subject of empirical analysis in the literature, and it establishes conditions, under which a given data set will support one (rank order or sign) hypothesis while at the same time rejecting another. This will shed some light on the circumstances influencing the likelihood of such non-robust test results. The paper also examines the empirical relevance of this phenomenon of non-robustness using the multi-country data set published in Bowen, Leamer and Sveikauskas (1987). Copyright 1991 by Royal Economic Society. Download InfoTo download: If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you ha
