Problem: Consider a three-country world: China, Colombia, and the U.S. China has 540 million unskilled and 300 million skilled workers; Colombia has 90 million unskilled and 60 million skilled workers; the U.S. has 72 million unskilled and 60 million skilled workers.
a. Suppose that Colombia opens up to trade with the U.S., but China trades with neither the U.S. nor Colombia. What will happen to wages for skilled and unskilled workers and the distribution of income in Colombia as a result? Explain, with the help of two diagrams (relative supply and the Lerner Diagram).
b. Suppose instead that when Colombia opens up to trade with the U.S., the U.S. already trades freely with China. Would your answer be different than in part a? Why or why not?