Terms of trade, Managerial Economics

Assignment Help:

TERMS OF TRADE

The relation between the prices of a country's exports and the prices of its imports, represented arithmetically by taking the export index as a percentage of the import index.  In the comparative cost model, terms of trade were, defined as the international exchange ratio between a country's export good and its import good.  This is the barter terms of trade which measures the quantity of exports which have to be sacrificed to obtain a unit of imports and is easily calculated when there are just two goods traded.  But in practice, countries trade hundreds of different goods and services and the concept of the terms of trade becomes more complex.  Estimates of the terms of trade are usually made by calculating an index of import prices; this gives an index of the term of trade:

Terms of trade index = Export Price Index    x  100

                                          Import Price Index

Thus, the price indices are essentially weighted averages of export and import pries.  If these are set at 100 in the same base year, say, 1990, then the terms of trade index is also 100.  If, for instance, import prices fall relative to  export prices, the terms of trade will rise above 100, the terms of trade then being said to be more favourable to the country concerned since it means that it can obtain more goods from abroad than before in exchange for a given quantity of exports.  On the other hand, if the terms of trade become unfavourable, the terms of trade index will fall below 100.

A rise in terms of trade index is usually described as an "improvement" or as "favourable" on the grounds that a rise in export prices relative to import prices theoretically means that a country can now buy the same quantity of imports for the sacrifice of less export (or it can have more imports for the same volume of exports).  Similarly, a fall in the terms of trade index is a "deterioration" or is an "unfavourable" movement.


Related Discussions:- Terms of trade

Determinants of demand, Determinants of Demand Price elasticity of dema...

Determinants of Demand Price elasticity of demand fluctuates from commodity to commodity. Whereas the demand of some commodities is highly elastic, demand for others is highly

Perfectly inelastic (zero elastic) supply, Perfectly Inelastic (Zero Elasti...

Perfectly Inelastic (Zero Elastic) Supply Supply is said to be perfectly inelastic if the quantity supplied is constant at all prices.  The supply curve is a vertical straight

How government intervenes to improve allocation of resources, Problem 1: ...

Problem 1: You are the manager of a reputed five star hotel in Mauritius and you have been asked by the director of the hotel to advise on possible pricing strategies to increa

Caselet 1, Plot the demand schedule and draw the demand curve for the data ...

Plot the demand schedule and draw the demand curve for the data given for Marijuana in the case.

Factors affecting the ability of trade unions, FACTORS AFFECTING THE ABILIT...

FACTORS AFFECTING THE ABILITY OF TRADE UNIONS TO GAIN LARGER WAGE INCREASES FOR ITS MEMBERS The basic factor is elasticity of demand for the type of labour concerned.  The ela

Traditional theoretical concepts to business behaviour, Traditional theoret...

Traditional theoretical concepts to actual business behaviour Accommodating traditional theoretical concepts to actual business behaviour and conditions: Managerial economic

Production-possibilities, a) A change in demand means that: b) On the pr...

a) A change in demand means that: b) On the production-possibilities drawing, unemployment is represented by:

Construction of the causal model - regression analysis, Q. Construction of ...

Q. Construction of the causal model - regression analysis? The construction of an explanatory model is a crucial step in the regression analysis. It should be defined with refe

Long-term policies to cure balance of payment deficits, Long-Term Policies ...

Long-Term Policies One long term option of tackling balance of payments deficit is export promotion .  In the long run this is the best method of improving a balance of payme

Nash equilibria of this game, Two competing firms are each planning to intr...

Two competing firms are each planning to introduce a new product. Firm 1 will decide whether to produce product A, product B or product C, while firm 2 can choose between products

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd