TY  - JOUR
AU  - Bowen,Harry P.
AU  - Sveikauskas,Leo
TI  - Judging Factor Abundance
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 3059
PY  - 1989
Y2  - August 1989
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w3059
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w3059.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Harry P. Bowen
Queens University of Charlotte
McColl School of Business 
1900 Selwyn Avenue 
Charlotte, NC 28274 
E-Mail: bowenh@queens.edu

Leo Sveikauskas
6410 Crane Terrace
Bethesda, MD 20817
Tel: 202 691 5677
Fax: 202 691 5664
E-Mail: sveikauskas_l@bls.gov
AB  - Recent theoretical developments have cast doubt on the reliability of the commonly used cross-industry regression as a method for inferring a country's abundant factors. This paper examines the empirical importance of these theoretical cautions by comparing regression derived estimates of factor abundance with both revealed and actual factor abundances for thirty-five countries and up to twelve resources. Trade imbalances are found to importantly affect the regression estimates and we therefore derive and implement a theoretically consistent trade balance correction. The results indicate that despite theoretical concerns, the regression measures are often reliable indicators of revealed factor abundances. The results therefore enhance the credibility of the findings of the numerous regression studies that have been conducted over the past thirty years.
ER  -