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We provide a North-South Schumpeterian growth model endogenously generating demand-driven patterns of vertical intra-industrial trade. More precisely, we build a model featuring non-homothetic preferences and income differences, and show that such conditions guarantee the endogenous emergence of multi-location, multi-quality firms. The existence of such firms and wealth heterogeneity among consumers both across and within countries then generate and shape rich patterns of intra-industrial vertical trade and FDI, with the extent of income disparities also conditioning the incentives to invest in R&D of both incumbents and challengers, and by extension the long-run growth rate. We then investigate the impact of within-region redistribution and trade integration policies on the endogenous wage gap across regions, the length of the quality-life cycle and long-run growth. We particularly find that a larger income gap within regions contributes to lowering growth and increasing the inter-regional inequality level. We also find that trade integration boosts long run growth but increases the North-South wage gap.

This thesis collects three models on North-South firm relocation. Chapter 1 studies how the presence of a multinational leads to a technology transfer to its local suppliers and also modifies the degree of backward linkages in the local economy. It identifies in which cases a multinational increases the level of backward linkages when it enters hosts markets and it investigates when the multinational could even benefit itself from transferring technology to its local suppliers. Chapter 2 deals with delocation and welfare. It shows that welfare in the North increases when the host country is not technologically too lagged and that vertical technology transfer to the South plays a major role in enhancing welfare of workers-consumers in the North and in the South. Finally, chapter 3 provides a Schumpeterian growth model endogenously generating demand-driven patterns of vertical intra-industrial trade. It gives a new explanation of the endogenous emergence of multi-location, multi-quality firms. The existence of such firms and income inequality among consumers both across and within countries then generate and shape rich patterns of intra-industrial vertical trade and FDI, with the extent of income disparities also conditioning the incentives to invest in R&D., (ECGE - Sciences économiques et de gestion) -- UCL, 2014

I present a general equilibrium model of delocation where firms move from the North to the South to benefit from low wages. As suggested by the large empirical litterature, welfare in the North increases when the host country is not technologically too lagged. Moreover, I show that vertical technology transfer to the South plays a major role in enhancing welfare of workers-consumers in the North and in the South. This analysis helps explaining the differences in empirical findings on production delocation.