History of the Study of DME
This is a case study of the neoclassical "Heckscher-Ohlin"-theory of international trade. This theory, originating from the 1930's, is standard material for courses in international trade theory. The pattern in which this theory has developed in the history of its research programme in interesting because it is quite a typical example displaying the general nature of the development of pure theory in economics. Once you know and understand this pattern, the understanding of the development of other and quite different, even opposed economic research programmes becomes easier. The least the pattern of the Heckscher Ohlin programme teaches is what are the key questions to ask if one wishes to have adequate and well organized understanding of actual theoretical economic research.Such understanding is often not easy to get from economic textbook introductions, because their quite justifiable aim is to swiftly lead the reader to the understanding of the theory in its state at the point of time the textbook is written. Textbooks are statical prestentations of the theory. Yet, economists and future economists have a natural desire to understand beyond the state of the theory the dynamics of the field to which they have the ambition to contribute.
If we neatly describe the historical succession of major results in the field following the presentation of first versions of this theory by Heckscher and Ohlin, what are common properties of these major results? This is not only a useful way of learning by example for future economists, but also provides a relevant empitical case for philosophers of science (at least the growing number of those in that branch who desire to reflect on real science instead of self-conceived phantasies scientific issues).
As those know who threw a glance in the contemporary litterature on the methodology of economics, often the term "economics" is thought to refer, if not to some coherent body of theories, at least to a coherent body of methods. It is insufficiently realized that the set of human mental activities labelled "economics" is so diverse that it seems wise first to select some subsets that at least have some things in common. The subset we take here is "pure theory development", the activities of those economists who are not primarily engaged in collecting data sets to estimate models, but are developing mathematical representations of general insights and lines of thoughts on causal processes in some part of the economy. This is quite a widespread activity in economics with which virtually every economics student will be confronted in his education. Ironically enough, this core business in economics is often frowned upon by outsiders as well as insiders. The Heckscher Ohlin programme is taken as an illustrative example of pure theory development, and it will be shown to enhance the understanding of this type of theory development.