We propose a theory of trade in which comparative advantages reveal themselves gradually over the path of development. Following the Ricardian tradition, countries specialise and export the set of goods they are able to produce at relatively lower cost given their exogenous initial endowments....

The literature on North-South trade has explored conditions under which international trade might be a factor magnifying income disparities between the advanced North and the backward South. Little attention has yet been placed on the effect of trade on countries that do not display substantial...