Analysis Of Alfred Marshall's International Trade Theories

Alfred Marshall earned his name as a distinguished economist not only in UKbut all over the world in the late 19th century and early 20th century. As the founderof the Cambridge school of economics, he devoted all his life to the research ofeconomics, in which he dealt with a very wide scope of study and made many greatachievements. This article has only limited itself to Marshall's contributions to theinternational trade theories which constitute a part of his economic thought. Itincludes: the effect of means of transportation on international trade;thecharacteristics of international trade;the trade balance;the relationships betweendemand and supply in international trade;the trade elasticity of a country's imports;the effects of demand elasticity on trade terms and the end-results of import tariffs,;the end-results of import and export tariffs;import tariffs aimed at supporting somedomestic industries;the basic principles of demand curve in international trade. Thisarticle also gives a retrospect and assessment of his historical influence and statusbased on the development of international trade and evolution of trade theory in thepast century. At last, this paper will touch on the inspiration of his theories to thedevelopment of China's international trade .