Automation induced by microelectronic technological change will ensure that a few Northern countries which have a lead on the basis of R and D, practical applications and faster diffusion, will have a comparative advantage vis‐à‐vis the rest of the world for some time to come. This will push the rest of the North—and even more so the South—into a dependency relation. Differences among areas and countries in the speed and direction of diffusion provide a basis for international trade, since it implies differences in absolute and comparative advantage. Given the pattern of output‐specialisation, trade will remain strong within the North, within the South and between the two hemispheres. Nevertheless, the overall dependency of the South vis‐à‐vis the North will increase.