Abstract We exploit Japan's mid-nineteenth century transition from autarky to open trade to test Alan Deardorff's (1982) seminal and parsimonious autarky price formulation of the Heckscher-Ohlin theorem. Factor price data from Japan's late autarky period impose a refutable restriction on Japan's factor content of trade. Our data are constructed from many historical sources, including a major Japanese survey of agricultural techniques and a rich set of nineteenth century comparative cost studies. Evaluating Japan's factor content of trade during 1865-1876 under alternative theoretical assumptions about technology, we provide robust evidence in favor of the Heckscher-Ohlin hypothesis.

Citation Bernhofen, Daniel M., and John C. Brown. 2016. "Testing the General Validity of the Heckscher-Ohlin Theorem." American Economic Journal: Microeconomics , 8 (4): 54-90 . DOI: 10.1257/mic.20130126 Choose Format: BibTeX EndNote Refer/BibIX RIS Tab-Delimited