Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering

Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering

The Impact of Foreign Trade on the Mobility of Factors of Production in BRICS Countries

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Shahab Kazemi 1
Ali Emami Meybodi 2
Ali Nazari 3
Farid Askari 1
1 Department of Economics, Ab.c., Islamic Azad University, Abhar, Iran
2 Department of Energy Economics, Faculty of Economics, Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran, Iran
3 Department of Statistics, Ab.c., Islamic Azad University, Abhar, Iran
Abstract
In recent decades, alongside the expansion of globalization, examining relationship between foreign trade and the mobility of factors of production has become a central issue in international economics. According to Mundell’s theory, trade and factor mobility can be substitutes for one another; however, recent empirical evidence, particularly in emerging economies, points to the existence of a complementary relationship between the two. objective of this study is to investigate the impact of foreign trade on labor and capital mobility in the BRICS member countries over the period 2000–2025 and to empirically test the validity of Mundell’s theory in these countries. To achieve this objective, annual data extracted from the World Development Indicators (WDI) database are employed, and panel econometric methods are used. After testing for stationarity and cointegration among the variables, long-run coefficients are estimated using Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) method to analyze the long-term effects of trade liberalization and tariffs on factor mobility. results indicate that trade tariffs have a positive effect on labor mobility and a negative and statistically significant effect on capital mobility, while an increase in trade openness leads to a reduction in labor mobility and a strengthening of foreign direct investment flows. These findings suggest that the relationship between foreign trade and factor mobility in BRICS countries is not necessarily substitutive and exhibits a complementary nature in the case of capital. results emphasize the key role of trade policies in shaping factor mobility and need for coordination among trade, labor market, and investment policies.
Keywords
Foreign Trade
Labor Mobility
Capital Mobility
Trade Liberalization
BRICS Countries
Subjects
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Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Volume 18, Issue 1
Winter 2026
Pages 28-41

  • Receive Date 27 February 2026
  • Accept Date 17 May 2026