| Sumario: | This article investigates imports and the internal pressure of demand in the U. S. from 1948 to 1968. The authors derived a neoclassical demand function for imports. The variables, which are typically ignored in neoclassical demand analysis, include such factors as the waiting time between the placement and delivery of an order, the alacrity with which suppliers offer trade credit, and even the general enthusiasm of the supplier to seek and obtain new orders. The authors argued that when there is excess demand in the country and pressure is exerted upon domestic resources, domestic waiting times increase, credit becomes more difficult to obtain, suppliers are less vigorous in the pursuit of new orders, and consumers therefore turn to foreign suppliers. In the process the estimates of the conventional price elasticities are increased in magnitude and significance. Over the trade cycle the excess demand is found to be capable of generating a variation of twenty percent in the ratio of imports to domestic goods.
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