dolution

Table 5.1 gives the share of the world’s resource endowments of (1) land, (2) physical capital, (3) research and development (R&D) scientists, (4) highly skilled labor, (5) medium-skilled labor, and (6) unskilled labor, as well as the share of world GDP, for most of the leading developed and developing countries in 2006 (more recent data were not available for all resource endowments). Arable land is the general resource to produce agricultural products; physical capital refers to machinery, factories, and other nonhuman means of production; R&D scientists refers to the most highly skilled labor with more than tertiary (college) education and used to produce the most highly technologi- cal products; highly skilled labor is labor that has completed tertiary or college education; unskilled labor is labor that has no education beyond primary education. A nation is broadly defined as having a relative abundance of those factors for which its share of the world availability of that factor exceeds the nation’s share of world output (GDP in terms of purchasing power). The table shows that the U.S. share of the world availability of R&D scientists and highly skilled labor exceeds its share of world GDP; it is about the same as its share of world output for the availability of physical capital, and smaller than its share of world GDP for arable land and medium-skilled and unskilled labor. Thus, we would expect the United States to have a net export surplus or comparative advantage in the most highly technological goods that are intensive in R&D scientists and highly skilled labor, to be more or less neutral in capital-intensive goods, and to have a comparative disadvantage in agricultural and other land and natural resource-intensive products, as well as in all types of goods produced with medium-skilled and unskilled labor. Japan has a relative abundance (and we expect it to have a comparative advantage) in capital-intensive products and in products requiring intensive use of R&D scientists and highly skilled labor; the United Kingdom does not seem to have any relative abundance in broadly defined factors (in fact, the United Kingdom has a relative abundance of highly skilled financial labor). Germany and France have a relative abundance of physical capital and R&D scientists; Italy has a relative abundance in physical capital; and Canada is relatively abundant in arable land, physical capital, R&D scientists, and highly skilled labor. China has a relative abundance of physical capital but especially of R&D scientists, medium-skilled labor, and unskilled labor; India has a relative abundance of arable land, physical capital, highly skilled, medium-skilled, and unskilled labor; Russia is relatively abundant in arable land, R&D scientists, and medium-skilled labor; Brazil has a relative abundance in all but R&D scientists and highly skilled labor; Korea has a relative abundance in physical capital, R&D scientists, and highly skilled labor; and Mexico is relatively abundant in highly skilled labor.