Immiserizing growth and inferior goods

Bhagwati (1958) demonstrated that either or both of 2 conditions are necessary but not sufficient for immiserizing growth: 1. the foreign offer curve is inelastic, and/or 2. growth is ultra pro-trade biased (growth reduces domestic production of the importable at constant relative prices). An attempt is made to demonstrate that, where growth is ultra anti-trade biased, the 2nd condition is violated and immiserizing growth is possible if and only if the foreign offer curve is inelastic and the export good is inferior in both home and foreign consumption. This proposition clarifies work by Yeh (1981) in which it is contended that immiserizing growth is not possible where growth is ultra anti-trade biased.